Leader Cub
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Max goes on his very first mission as a leader to rescue his wolf brother and his girlfriend from certain doom! And he thrives on being a first time leader...but a certain tiger master gets very jealous over his role. Will Max succeed? Dedicated to SpiritualLoneWolf XIII and Master of Stories. Hope ya'll enjoy! Rated T for violence, language and big peril.
1. Visiting

This has been in my head since MLK day and this could be one of my most awesome fics ever written! What would happen if Max goes on a rescue mission to save Arizona and Sierra from the clutches of doom...and is the leader? This is dedicated to SpiritualLoneWolf XIII, Master of Stories and pretty much everyone. And Elemental Hazards, you can weigh in on every chapter of this story! I hope you guys like the drama, the action...the amazing adventure that proves that a little tiger cub can do big things! Talk about epic!

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Leader Cub

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Visiting

One morning at the Valley of Peace and in the Bushido-Akio home, Max and Logan were busy playing mahjong and Max started thinking about which piece he should move and he skips a few moves into Logan's side and he said, "Yes!"

Logan groans at the fact that Max is actually getting better at it and he said, "I'm starting to lose my mojo here."

"Dude, you don't even have a mojo yet." Max said, smiling.

Logan scoffs and planned to beat Max at this game, so he moved a couple of spots ahead of him and he lets out a smirk and folded his arms and said, "No game, little guy. No game."

Max puts on his serious face and determined to finish him off with a sudden move as he jumped up 7 spaces and eventually placed his stone over Logan's side of the game and he said, "Oh, yeah!"

Logan could not believe what Max just did...he beat him again. He was definitely not taking this well and he said, "Are you serious?! How can a cub like you possibly beat me in mahjong?"

"I beat Tigress at her own game many times...so you learn a little bit." Max answered.

"Man, you're good at this." Logan said.

"I also got it from you." Max added.

Suddenly, Sage comes downstairs and with his baggy shorts with parts of his underwear showing and Logan looks up and said, "Well...look who's finally decided to get up."

Sage glares at Logan in the face and he said, "Stuff it, Logan. I get up when I feel like getting up, all right?"

Logan chuckled softly at Sage's words and he figured that he's still the same old cranky do whatever guy despite battling his nemesis a few weeks ago and Max lets out a deep sigh and he just felt a little down and Logan was the first one to notice and he asked, "Thinking about Arizona?"

"Uh-huh. When's he coming back?" asked Max.

Logan scratched the tip of his muzzle for that question and he replied, "I'm not sure. He has been gone with Sierra for a long time on some sort of rescue mission. He should've been back by now."

Max had really missed him for a long time and at times, he felt really worried for his wolf brother because it has been a week since he left and hasn't heard from him in a while and Logan looks at Max and said, "Don't worry, Maxie. He'll be back."

"I hope so. I miss him a lot." Max replied.

Later that morning, Max made his way to the Jade Palace with Logan and as they walked across the steps, Logan said to himself, "These stairs are no joke."

"They're really big, aren't they?" asked Max, following him.

"How does everyone up and down without even getting sweaty?" Logan asked, feeling exhausted.

Max started to notice Logan sweating a little bit and they kept on going until they reached the top of the front doors of the Hall of Heroes and Logan said, "Thank goodness we made it."

Max felt a drip of Logan's sweat dropping on his forehead and quickly wipes it off to avoid the smell of wet dog coming towards him and he said, "You should think about taking a bath."

"Really, Max? Did ya have to say that?" asked Logan, getting a little irritated.

"Well, you're sweating." Max answered.

Logan knocked on the door and he took a quick time to smell his pits and indeed...they did reek the smell of wet dog and he said, "I hate it when you're right."

"And you stink." Max replied.

Just then, the door opens and in comes Viper and Monkey answering and Max waved 'hi' to them and Viper said, "Hey, Max. How are you?"

"Good, I guess." Max replied.

Monkey then started to smell something and he looks up at Logan and asked, "Logan...why do I smell wet dog?"

Logan then started laughing sarcastically after making that comment he made and replied, "Whatever...where's the nearest bathhouse? I need to take a quick bath before my entire fur is soaked with wet dog stink."

Seconds later, Max walks towards the Training Hall by himself and as he made his way in, he saw a certain familiar black tigress walking through the steps and he figured it might be a good time to sneak up on her and he quickly ran on all fours and pounced behind her back and stuck there and then pinned her playfully.

"Hi, Layla!" Max exclaimed.

Layla started laughing when she heard Max's voice and she immediately said, "Hi, Maxie! How long you've been here?"

"I just got here." Max answered.

Max gets off of her and Layla immediately picked him up and just hugged him deeply...so much so that Max started purring and Layla did the same and Max did see a mother figure in the black tigress and she asked, "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I've been doing okay." Max added.

Layla could tell from his face that he deeply misses Arizona so badly and she asked, "Do you miss Arizona?"

"A lot. We've never been apart for too long before and it makes me feel really sad." Max replied, sadly.

Layla gave him a hug and just sympathized with Max about him missing Arizona because she and the rest of the Hazards missed him too and she said, "I miss him too. But I know for a fact that he'll come home for you."

Max agreed with what she told him and talking about it with her totally helped him feel better and he said, "I know he would."

Just then, Takami comes out of the training hall and saw Max and Layla sitting together and he was surprised that Max got here and asked, "Hey, Max. When did you get here?"

"A little while ago. Logan's taking a bath now because he was sweaty from walking up the stairs to the palace." Max answered.

Takami got pretty surprised after hearing what Max brought in about Logan and he said, "Really?"

"Yep." Max answered.

Almost immediately, Kovu came out behind Takami and both cubs were happy to see each other and they started cheering, doing some high-five/low-five greetings and a hug to start off with and Kovu said, "How are ya?"

"Pretty good. You?" asked Max.

"I'm great. Takami was gonna start training me on my pouncing." Kovu answered.

Takami nodded his head in agreement and then added, "Kicking it off with pouncing me without even knowing doesn't qualify as a training round."

"It does when you don't keep up." Kovu added.

Max started snickering at what Kovu just told him and he thought that was the funniest thing he heard him say and Takami rolled his eyes at that and then he looked at Max and asked, "You wanna join us?"

"You bet!" Max answered, joyfully.

* * *

Next up, the training scene! Hazards, what do you think so far!


	2. Training Cubs

Training session with two cubs! Let's see how Takami handles training Max and Kovu.

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Chapter 2: Training Cubs

Once they got started, Takami started sparring with both Kovu and Max and almost immediately, Max dodged most of Takami's moves and started ducking, dodging, jumping and flipping up and down and Kovu did exactly the same, only he slid underneath Takami and attacked him from behind.

Kovu and Max tag teamed each other to see if they would be able to catch up with Takami and one by one...they went a lot faster than Takami when it comes to their fighting skills and he could barely keep up with Kovu more so than Max and both of them went further and further to go as quickly.

Soon enough, they just stopped as they saw Takami getting really dizzy from dodging both cubs and gave him a chance to breathe and keep himself from having a dizzy spell.

"T.K.'s exhausted." Kovu added.

Takami took some time to take a breath before he could move on and after that, he went up towards both of them and he said, "Why don't I just train with Max a little? It's a job keeping up with you guys."

Kovu and Max gave each other a fist bump as Max went ahead with Takami as he started watching him train a little bit and Max was very eager to learn a little bit from Takami.

"All right...let's see how your defense attack is." Takami said.

Max nodded his head and Takami started to attack, but Max dodged every single punch and move and blocked every punch Takami gives out and as they continued on, Max quickly learned a lot more from defense attacks and moved ahead to basic attacks and when Takami started to attack him, Max grabbed onto his fist and flipped him across the ground.

Kovu widened his eyes as he watched Max take down Takami and he was instantly amazed by what he's doing and watching an eight year old somewhat getting Takami's butt kicked was pretty much entertaining.

Takami got up and he immediately went ahead and attacked him with his punch and kicks, but Max quickly dodged them and slid underneath his legs and as Takami looks behind, he received a surprise; Max leaping across the swinging clubs and pounces him from behind.

"Always expect the unexpected." Max said.

Takami chuckled at this as he got pinned down by Max and said, "Take everything I said and use it against me. Well, you seem to be advancing quickly. Now can you get off?"

Max releases himself off of Takami and Kovu comes over and gives him a high-five and his amazing skills caught Layla, Kiba, Kaizer and Ryo's attentiom quickly and they were really impressed with how he trained with Takami and Kiba said, "Man, you've got the energy of a...of a tiger."

Kaizer turned to Kiba for that simple comment Kiba made and he said, "We are tigers, Kiba. Don't get it twisted."

"Well, you know what I'm talking about." Kiba said, chuckling.

"I am super proud of you, Maxie." Layla said, smiling.

Ryo had to admit that Max does have some amazing skills and stuff and he said, "I could barely keep up with T.K. if I made some moves like that."

Meanwhile, Takami brough Kovu outside to the courtyard for a little pouncing lesson and he said, "All righty...we have to work on your pouncing a little bit. We've covered how to get you started, but it's time for you to learn how you can not let anyone know where you are, in case you wanna go after the enemy."

"How do I do that?" asked Kovu.

"Just watch what I do."

Takami demonstrates this move by getting down on all fours, staying low to the ground and pretends he's invisible so that he no one can be seen and heard and he waits for the right time to strike and after a minute and a half...he slowly moves across the courtyard and from the minute he saw Ryo coming out, he immediately runs up and leaps over towards Ryo and pins him down to the floor, making the black wolf really surprised.

"All about the element of surprise." Takami added.

Ryo grunts as he got pinned on by Takami and he asked, "Really, T.K.? I'm not bothering anyone. Skyler isn't even here, so what did I do?"

"Nothing. This is just for show." Takami replied, getting off of Ryo.

Takami then looks at Kovu and said, "Now you try. Just do what I did. And this time...don't use it on me. If you wanna pounce on someone, pounce on either Ryo, Kiba or Kaizer."

Kovu nodded his head and then he looks at Ryo and the black wolf did not want to be pounced on and he said, "Don't look at me. Pounce Kiba."

As Ryo starts walking back, Kovu took a couple of steps back and emulated everything that Takami taught him and used it well and as he waited for someone to strike. he immediately runs up and began pouncing on someone in the training hall...but little did he know...

"KOVU!"

Takami ran back to the training hall and to his surprise...Kovu pounced on Tigress, who just came in the training hall and then, the brown cub turned to Takami and asked, "How was that?"

"That was great. Really, really great." Takami answered.

Kovu looked at Tigress for a second and he said, "You make an excellent target."

Tigress snarled in response to that and Kovu eventually got off of her and Max started snickering throughout and said, "That was so much fun."

As Tigress got herself up, Takami then explained they were going through some of Kovu's pouncing and later, she pretty much understood it and Max went on to say, "That made my day because Kovu actually kicked Tigress' butt."

"Watch it, Max." Tigress said, sternly.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm just joking. Jeez, don't have a cow." Max replied, calmly.

Tigress got a little confused on what Max actually meant by that and she wanted to get to training as soon as possible and as the rest of them left, Takami said to Tigress, "Hey, I was just helping Kovu out. I'm sure he didn't mean to intentionally pounce you."

"Yeah, I guess I was a bit over-sensitive about it." Tigress stated, calmly.

He nodded in agreement and then said, "One good thing though...better you than me."

* * *

Pretty awesome, huh? Cool training session! Next up...Fung and his gang appear!


	3. Bandit Encounters

I thought it would be funny to add in Fung and his gang to see if they can stand up against a little eight year old tiger cub with fighting skills.

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Chapter 3: Bandit Encounters

Later that afternoon, Kaizer, Takami, Ryo, Kiba and Faith were walking around the valley with Max for a little breather after some serious training sessions and soon enough, Kaizer comes across his friend Felicity, who just walked out of a bookshop and he heads over to meet her up and he said, "Hey, Felicity."

The black cat looks up at Kaizer and she was delighted to see him and said, "Hey, Kai. How are you?"

"Fine. You?" asked Kaizer.

"Just picking up a few books. I got some romance novels and a little bit of adventure books. They're really, really interesting." Felicity answered.

Kaizer chuckled softly and he said, "Bet you're gonna enjoy some reading, huh?"

"Yes. And with these glasses, I'm gonna enjoy reading them." Felicity said, still appreciative of Kaizer giving her a pair of glasses.

Kaizer nods his head and he said, "I'm glad to hear that."

"I'll see you around, Kai." Felicity said, as she walks away.

Kaizer watched her walk away and he replied, "Yeah, see you later."

When he came back with the others, Kiba, Ryo and Max started to make some kissing noises indicating that he's falling in love with Felicity and Kaizer just rolled his eyes at that and immediately denies that and said, "As I said, we're just friends."

"And I bet you're gonna be the guy in those novels to sweep her off her feet." Ryo added.

Kiba just burst out laughing after Ryo made a little comment on that, in which Kaizer responds to a small snarl and Kiba said, "Bet you'll be her knight in shining dark armor."

He would love nothing more than to punch him in the face or kick his butt, but he wouldn't do so because Max is right in front of him and it wouldn't look right for the little cub to see his fighting side and he tells both wolves, "Zip it...unless you wanna receive a kick where the sun doesn't shine."

That sorta shuts the two wolves up immediately after making that statement and Ryo said, "That's not even remotely funny."

Faith lets out a deep sigh and said, "You two are so immature."

"Us? Immature?!" Ryo and Kiba exclaimed, in unison.

Max looks up at Takami over this whole situation and all Takami could say to Max is, "Sometimes I wonder who's the immature one of these wolves."

"They oughta live with Logan and Sage. They argue like that." Max answered.

Suddenly, Takami's ears perked up sounds of commotion coming through parts of the Valley and he told everyone else to follow him and as they followed suit towards the town, they see the Croc Bandits just attempting to steal a fruit cart without getting caught and Takami said, "It's them."

"The Croc Bandits? What are they up to this time?" asked Faith.

"Sounds like they're planning to steal a fruit cart from someone...and Fung just opened his big mouth about it." Takami answered.

"...and we're gonna take some of your fruit and just steal it!" Fung exclaimed.

"Uh...aren't we supposed to make them surrender?" asked one croc bandit.

Fung got pretty much flustered by one croc's question and he turned to them and said, "Gah! You guys have completely forgotten what I just told you already?! We come up to them, force them to surrender the cart to us and then we yank it our of their hands to ours! It's that simple!"

"But doesn't it usually end with the panda stopping us?" Gah-ri asked.

Fung growls in frustration and throws the helmet down on the ground and said, "Am I not aware of that?! Besides, we can do whatever we want! It's already embarassing enough to have Po stop us! What next, a little kid?!"

All of a sudden, he received a kick in the leg and Fung groans in pain after that and suddenly, his tail gets bitten and Fung screams out and said, "Who did that?!"

"Uh...probably that black and white kid." another croc pointed out.

Suddenly, Fung looks down and sees Max biting his tail and he said, "Where did you come from?!"

"For bandits, you guys aren't that smart." Max added.

Fung took that as an offense to what Max just told him and he said, "We are not stupid! Maybe they are, but I for one...am not stupid! I'm just...you know...prepare to be torn to pieces, in shreds, destroyed and...and continued."

"While you work on that, why don't we take care of it from here?"

The croc bandits then see Takami, Ryo, Kiba, Kaizer and Faith coming in to attack them and Fung nervously said, "Darn it."

Takami went ahead first and delivered the crocs a humongous punch in the face and as one tries to chase after Faith, she shot out some ice powers directly at him, but he just kept going and another one blocks out of the way and said, "What's a pretty cheetah girl doing fighting us?"

Faith snarls in response to this and said, "I got your pretty cheetah girl."

She them pulls them down, tumbles them down and gives them a slamdown in the floor and Kiba comes in and throws some blue fire directly on the back of their pants and kicks them in the jaw and he said, "How do you like those flames?"

Ryo and Kaizer teamed up to get at Fung and Gah-ri and each of them beat the living snot out of those two crocs; where Ryo knocks down Gah-ri with multiple punches and kicks to the body parts and stomps on his tail and throws him up, down and all around the corners while Kaizer gets at Fung, punching him and dodging every single punch Fung attempts to do.

"Why don't ya hold still so I can tear you to pieces?" asked Fung.

Kaizer dodged all of Fung's punches, then does a backflip and kicks him from behind and replied, "You're too stupid to even keep up."

Soon enough, one of the bandits grabbed ahold of Max and he asked, "Hey, Fung...what do we do with the kid?"

Kaizer growls at the sight seeing most of the crocs grabbing Max and Fung replied, "You guys are seriously thinking about taking care of the kid?"

"Uh, yeah. I thought maybe we can hold a ransom out and he can be torn to pieces." another croc added.

Even Max thinks it's a stupid idea and he immediately bit his finger and as the croc howls in pain, he releases Max and then immediately stomps on his foot and comes back with Kaizer and Fung was shocked to see what this kid just did and he said, "That's it! Prepare to be torn to pieces!"

"Man, you guys have a lack of consistency." Kaizer added.

"And brains." Max commented.

All the crocs were gonna go after Max, but Takami, Ryo, Faith, Kiba and Kaizer fought them off and beat them up in random ways and as Max was witnessing this, he was completely awestruck with what they just did and as soon as they were defeated, Max comes over to Fung and kicks him in the groin and tells him, "See ya, funk."

"It's Fung! F-U-N...ung!" Fung said, in a squeaky voice.

As they headed on their way back to the Jade Palace, Max looked at the rest of them and asked, "How did they ever become bandits?"

"Your guess is as good as ours." Takami answered.

* * *

How did you like that? Coming up next...we get to the hugest task Max has to endure. Hazards, what did you guys think?


	4. Little Mission Leader

Max's amazing mission begins! And here's how the reaction is when everyone finds out he's gonna be the youngest leader!

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Chapter 4: Little Mission Leader

The next day comes along and all of the masters were completely unsure of how they're gonna tell Max about Arizona and Sierra because of a certain letter that was delivered by Zeng and as soon as Max comes in the Hall of Heroes, they knew that he would have to know eventually and Shifu comes up to him and he said, "Maximus...we have something to tell you."

That surprised Max the most because usually, he'd get a hello or a how you doing, but from the looks of what's going on, Max knew that something was up and he got completely concerned and it had something to do with Arizona and he asked, "Is it about my wolf brother?"

"Yes." Shifu replied.

Max braced himself for what the news was gonna be, but he hopes that he didn't die during the mission and he said, "I can handle it."

"Max...I received a letter from our messenger regarding Arizona and Sierra. But don't worry. They're not dead." Shifu added.

Max was finally relieved that both wolves are still alive, but the relief was short-lived when Shifu continued saying, "...but they are being held hostage in some sort of dungeon."

Then, Max grew increasingly worried and scared about the fact that Arizona and Sierra are locked up by someone and he couldn't imagine what kinds of torture they would deeply endure in and he got down on his knees, which was a terrifying moment for Master Shifu to see and he comes to him and said, "I'm sorry, Max."

Max rose his head up and stands up and he said, "We gotta get them back. I can't sit here knowing that my wolf brother's in trouble."

"Max, even if you knew where he could be, it'd still be impossible for you to find where he is." Tigress stated.

"I don't care. My brother's out there! He needs me! I love him too much to lose him!" Max added.

Shifu could sense that Max is determined to save his wolf brother from danger the same way Arizona would do and he can tell that he won't stop at nothing to help him and he looks at him and said, "I do have a simple suggestion for you."

Max immediately turned to Shifu and replied, "What is it? I'll do anything for him."

"I know you would. That's why I'm assigning this mission for you to find where Arizona and Sierra are held and you can rescue them from this band of wolf and tiger gangs called Vigilante Mafia, the most notoriously hardcore gangs this side of China." Shifu added.

Most of the masters were pretty much shocked that Max would take this responsiblity to be in this kind of mission and Tigress said, "Shifu, are you certain he can handle this? He's only a child! He can't do this!"

"Yes, I can!" Max argued.

"No, you can't! You can't go out there alone!" Tigress added.

Shifu nodded his head in agreement and then he suddenly said, "You're absoultely right, Tigress...which is why I made the most unconquerable decision to have Max lead this mission."

The masters suddenly went from shock to downright triple shock that a little cub like Max would be the leader of this mission and that didn't sit well with Tigress and she got a mixture of shock, disbelief and outrage that Shifu brought it in and asked, "What?! Him?! Leader?! I respectfully respond that this is a stupid idea! He's only 8!"

"Master Tigress, this cub obviously has to learn responsibility to keep not only himself safe, but for the safety of others. And besides, if Max has to save his wolf brother and his girlfriend, he ought to take the lead in this." Shifu replied.

Kaizer was just dumbfounded by how Shifu brought in the idea that Max would lead this mission and he said, "Are you sure about this, Master Shifu? I'm not the 'leader' type know it all, but this isn't fun and games."

"I know...which is why Max has to look out for all of you." Shifu added.

"Master...this is not fair. You have no right to let Max assign a role as a leader! Besides, it should be me!" Tigress shouted.

Shifu didn't want to debate this issue and turn it to a full-fledged argument and he said, "But since Max is concerned for Arizona and his well-being, he should at least be given the chance to do so."

Tigress lets out a bitter growl and Shifu comes up to Max and asked, "Are you willing to take this challenge?"

Max looks at Shifu in the eye and he's always wanted to see what a leader would be like and he's been told multiple times that he's too small to accomplish something big and he's always one to prove them wrong and he said, "Yes, Shifu. I accept."

"Now...Master Tigress is coming along on this mission and you choose who you want to them to join you." Shifu replied.

Soon enough, he looks around most of the Hazards and he was quick to make some choices and said, "I pick Takami, Layla, Faith, Kiba, Ryo, Hope and Kaizer to come."

Takami comes up to Max and completely congratulated him for stepping up to his role as leader at such a young age and he said, "I can't wait to see what you can do."

"So will I. We're at your every command." Layla said, smiling.

"Yeah, we've never had a kid leading a mission before...besides T.K. of course, but I'm stoked!" Ryo cheered.

Max was definitely feeling the support of most of the Hazards and he said, "Thanks, but one thing must be clear: when I lead, I'll only treat you guys the way you want to be treated. I won't be too bossy and I'll help you guys in any way I can. Hopefully, we can do what's neccesary for ourselves to accomplish this rescue and it's for my wolf brother."

Takami was deeply impressed with what Max just said and reminded himself of a younger version of himself and takes this role without any hesitation whatsoever and he said, "Spoken like a true leader."

"Isn't that great, Tigress? Little Maxie's actually gonna be a leader. He's growing up, isn't he?" Layla said, happily.

Tigress only responded with a very angry growl as he glared at him and is showing signs of a bitter jealousy towards him as a leader and said, "Yeah...too much."

She felt like he robbed her out of being a leader of this mission and considers him an ultimate threat for attention and she thought to herself, 'I hate you, Max.'

"Well, on that note...the mission begins tomorrow. Will you be up for it, Max?" asked Shifu.

"Yes, sir. We meet at my house tomorrow morning." Max replied.

"You got it, sir!" the others replied.

* * *

You guys think Max has what it takes? If you don't...you'd might as well hold your tongue if you don't find yourselves in the Hazards' presence. Now you might be asking, where are Arizona and Sierra? On the next chapter, you'll get your answer.


	5. Prisoner Wolves

You'd think I wouldn't show Arizona and Sierra all locked up by this freaky evil guy? Think again!

* * *

Chapter 5: Prisoner Wolves

Somewhere further away in China lies a dark and very dangerous tower located just above the Wall of China titled Xingao Tower, stands a very dangerous tiger/wolf hybrid stands over the balcony, looking over the entire Wall and has the desire to take over the entire Republic of China and has the full intent to stop anyone who gets in his way.

"Zanki?"

The tiger/wolf hybrid turns around; stands at 5'7, weighing at 175 pounds, has dark orange eyes with dark black white fur with black stripes, wearing all black clothing (cape, sweatpants and sleeveless vest) and has a few scars on his face, including one on his eye and he looks at one of his servants in the eye and asked, "What do you want?"

"I came to tell you that we caught in the prisoners that were planning to set the imprisoned wolves free." the servant replied.

Zanki lets out the most evil smirk that outdoes all evil smirks and said, "Excellent work."

He then makes his way over to the prisoner site, but first...he had to make way to where the imprisoned wolves are held at and as he entered inside there, every single wolf; male and female and aged 16 through 22 were barking, snarling and shouting for freedom and deeply demanding for him to let them go and Zanki completely ignored their pleas and cries and he breaks out his whip and that pretty much shut them up and he said, "You should consider yourselves lucky that neither of you are facing death...yet."

He then makes one little crack on the whip and he continuyed on telling them, From here one out, you're all my prisoners and you can kiss freedom goodbye because you will never, ever, ever, ever getting out forever."

That pretty much set one young wolf off and he wanted to punch the punch out of that guy, but as he did so, he received a quick whip to the paw from Zanki and all he did was howl in pain as the whip mark started to surface and the wolf/tiger hybrid replied, "You shouldn't have done that. Just think of it the next time you try to lay your paws on me...when you receive your death wish."

After that, he left their cell and the imprisoned wolves continued on barking at Zanki for locking them up for no reason and Zanki made his way to where the two prisoners will be staying at and as he reached up the stairs to where they'll be held at, he unlocks the door and as he entered inside...

Arizona and Sierra were shackled in this one prison cell and as they saw Zanki walking in, Arizona immediately releases a very furious growl/bark and he shouted, "You had no damn right to do this to us!"

Zanki was always one to be heard those kinds of words before and he's also one to not really care about the opposition side and he said, "Oh, do I? I think I do."

"You're a vile, mad, insane person off the face of this earth!" Sierra said, snarling at him.

Just then, Zanki shifted his attention from Arizona to Sierra after hearing her comment and he came closer to her, which intensified Arizona's fury and anger when he came far too close to his mate and if he were to get out of these shackles, he'd take the immediate first punch to Zanki if he puts his hands on her.

Suddenly, Zanki did just that as he puts his hands on her waist and Arizona barked at him dangerously for doing so and Sierra hated the fact that Zanki was all over her and he responds, "Frankly, my lady...I really don't give a damn."

Just then, he slaps her in the face and kicks her in the stomach and Zanki starts laughing maniacally and Arizona started growling and barking at him for doing that to his girlfriend and screamed, "If I ever get out of those damn chains...trust me, you will not like what I will do to you!"

Zanki smirked at Arizona's threat and he said to him, "I highly don't believe that. Like it or not...you'll remain here forever."

As he leaves, Arizona's anger somewhat simmered down, but he still hated what Zanki did to Sierra and he turns to Sierra and asked, "Are you all right?"

Sierra groans and grunts in pain after receiving that punch and slap from Zanki and she turned to Arizona and replied, "I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry for bringing you into this." Arizona said.

She looks up at her boyfriend and tells him, "I would gladly give my life to just be with you, Ari. You know that."

He couldn't argue with that and he said to her, "We need to get out of this place."

"I agree, but this guy is crazy nuts. We'd be killed in an instant." Sierra added.

Arizona sighed heavily because he knew that she was right about the escaping and that they'd be the first ones to be killed if they escape, but that wasn't the only problem. He would never see his little tiger brother again and he was supposed to come home after setting those imprisoned wolves free and he'll never get a chance to escape. Sierra then noticed Arizona's lone tear falling down from his face and she got a little closer to him even though they're shackled and nuzzled his shoulder for comfort.

"Thanks." Arizona replied, tearfully.

"I miss Max too." Sierra added.

Arizona looks up on the ceiling and he whispered, "Good night, Maxi...wherever you are, I hope I see you again."

* * *

Back at the Valley of Peace, Mako's house

"Are you serious? You get to lead a mission?" asked Bang, excitedly.

Max nodded his head and replied, "Yep. This could be my only chance to save Arizona and Sierra from who knows what could happen."

K.C. seemed definitely opposed to the idea that a kid would actually lead on a mission and he said, "You couldn't even learn how to do chores let alone lead a mission. Do you know how dangerous that sounds?"

That reaction was something that Sage could never hear what K.C. would say, even though he strongly agrees with what he just said and said, "Didn't know you cared, K.C. Max, I still believe you can't accomplish something that grown ups could do."

Max definitely felt like most of them weren't too sure about him leading a mission so young and he asked, "What makes you think I can't handle it?"

"One, you're eight years old; two, you're too small and three; it's dangerous." Madison pointed out.

The second part was something that Max heard over and over again about him being too small to handle any task that's laid out in front of him and he said, "You're not in my position. I'm getting really sick of being picked on for being small to accomplish anything and for once, I want to prove everyone that I'm never too small or too young to do what's right."

Reiko seemed a little worried for Max after overhearing that Max gets to go on a mission and she fears for his well-being and safety and said, "Are we certain about this? What if he gets hurt?"

"Reiko...Max is very mature for his age and he handles himself really well. But I do worry about his safety too." Mako added.

Reiko lets out a worrisome sigh and said, "I just don't know if he's really ready for that kind of responsibility."

Mako puts his paw on her shoulder and said, "But Max has to learn how to be responsible for the safety of others somehow. If we hold him back, how else would he learn?"

Reiko did have to admit that he does have a very good point with the fact that Max is gonna hit 9 soon and it'll be the time to handle much more responsibility, but she still feels worried that it'll be too much to handle for a little cub. Mako then said to her, "Besides, Arizona and Max are like this...brothers for life."

Mako shows her the signal on his fingers to show how close these two are and if anyone's willing to do something for each other, it's Max. He then said to her, "He has this never give up and keep going personality and a very good spirit. I don't know how he's got it, but no one has it like little Maximus."

Both panda parents keep a close eye on Max and Reiko knew in her heart that nothing would stop him from rescuing his wolf brother and though she still feels nervous, she's starting to feel happy for him no matter what.

"Kid's gonna be someone." Reiko said, silently.

* * *

Thought I would end the chapter with Max telling his sibs about his first task as a lader on this mission. On the next chapter...his first official day!


	6. Set to Go

The day comes! Max's first day as leader!

* * *

Chapter 6: Set to Go

6:00 AM

Max was already up and got all of his stuff and some supplies packed up for this big mission he's ready to lead to save Arizona and Sierra and as he makes his way downstairs, he seeks Logan and Phoenix waiting downstairs for him and he asked, "What's going on?"

"Dad asked us to go with you. Just like an extra security to keep an eye on you when you lead us." Phoenix replied.

Max widened his eyes to the fact that both of his brothers get to go and give him moral support and he said, "Thank you. I may need it though."

Logan puts his paw on Max's shoulder and he said, "Just try not to be so controlling."

"Nah, I'm not gonna be. I'm not the type of person who likes to tell people what to do." Max added.

Phoenix nodded and replied, "That's good. But we'll get it done with whatever request you give us."

Just then, Sage comes downstairs with his bags packed up and wearing his ripped baggy shorts that shows parts of his underwear and the same goes for K.C. and Yow-Ni and all three were still kinda against the idea that Max can lead a mission, but they knew there would be no way out of it and Sage said, "Can't believe we get to go. The last thing I need is to be told what to do by a kid."

Max rolled his eyes at this and he said, "Come on, guys. Give me a break here."

Mako and Reiko came out of the kitchen and brought in a bag full of snacks and other food in case they're hungry during the mission and Reiko said, "Maxie...I'm gonna give you a huge amounts of food for you to share with the others."

Phoenix was completely overwhelmed for Max with that kind of food she got and he said, "That's enough to feed a whole army."

Mako then looks at Sage, Yow-Ni and K.C. and he immediately noticed Sage's shorts that nearly exposes his underwear and he said, "Pull your shorts up."

"Seriously?" asked Sage.

"Yes, seriously. We don't need to see any parts we don't need to see exposed." Mako answered.

Sage sighed heavily and he did what he said as he raises it above his underwear and Mako looked at both K.C. and Yow-Ni and said, "The same goes for you two."

K.C. and Yow-Ni grumbled begrudingly as they pulled their shorts up and Mako said, "That's much better."

Yow-Ni looks at Sage for a second after this fiasco and asked, "Is this guy for reals?"

"No joke." Sage replied.

It wasn't long before the door knocks and Reiko was the first one to answer the door and sees Takami right in front of her and she said, "Good morning, Mr. Skyfang."

"Good morning, Reiko. And please...call me Takami." Takami said, politely.

"Come on in." she said.

Takami came in for a little while and he saw Max standing there and he got down to his level and said, "Morning, Mr. Leader."

"Hey, Takami." Max said.

"So...you ready for this? It's gonna be a big responsibility for you." Takami added.

Max looks Takami in the eye and responds, "I'm willing to take it. And I made a promise to Arizona that if he's in trouble, I'd be there for him because he does a lot for me and I'm willing to make good on his promise."

Takami definitely feels blown away by what Max just said with so much sincereity and courage that he's definitely up for being a leader of this mission and likes his 'can-do' and 'never say die' attitude that it'll be a very interesting mission and said, "I'm definitely confident that you'll accomplish it."

"Is everyone else here?" asked Max.

"Yep. They're all waiting for you."

Logan comes up to Takami and he asked, "Mind if we join in? Our dad has told me, Phoenix, Sage, K.C. and Yow-Ni to come along to keep an eye on Max."

"We don't mind at all." Takami added.

As they headed out of the door, Max saw Layla, Ryo, Kiba, Kaizer, Faith, Hope and Tigress standing in front of the house and he greeted them a good morning and everyone but Tigress responded back to him and he asked them, "So...you guys ready for this?"

"We've been ready." Hope responded.

"I am absoultely positive." Layla said, smiling.

Kiba, Faith, Kaizer and Ryo echoed in on what Hope and Layla said and when Max turned to Tigress, he can tell that she's still angry at him for being a leader to this mission and the only thing she could tell him was, "Just as long as you live up to an actua leader standard because I still think you're not capable of handling this at someone your age."

Max took it as a motivation for every doubt she brings in and rather than just making a comeback, he smiled and said, "Thanks for the support. You're really cool."

She got confused that she just insulted him, yet he's not that affected by it and she said, "That wasn't even a compliment. It's a warning."

Max gave her a thumbs-up and Tigress felt like every insult that she threw, Max takes it as a compliment. That's when she knew that he was mentally strong and can dish whatever she takes out and she didn't like it one bit and as she balled her fists up and planned to teach him a lesson, Kaizer stops her and said, "Cool it. Let's just see how he does, all right?"

Takami goes up to everyone and said, "All righty...Maximus will take the lead in this mission and honestly, I think it's awesome that Shifu assigned him as a task to rescue our friends. Just so you know, I've showed him the ropes on how to lead and if he needs any help, I'll gladly do so. I just wanna tell you one thing; regardless of his age or size, this kid can be an awesome leader and we should treat him with as much respect without causing any kind of drama or conflict. My role is peacekeeper for this, so anything that goes haywire between you guys and Max, I'll gladly end it...that's if I don't go to extreme measures."

Then, he glares at his master because he's well aware of her bitter resentment towards Max being chosen as a leader and said, "That means you too, Master Tigress."

Tigress folded her arms and releases a frustrated growl that Takami just told her not to create any kinds of drama between her and Max and she hated the fact that he's sticking up for him, but at the same time..she just needs to cool off a little bit.

"All righty, Max. Here's your map and lead us off." Takami said.

Max was definitely ready for this and as his brothers went in front of the others, he turned to them and said, "Okay. Listen up, my wolf brother and his girlfriend are in big trouble and we need to find this tower where they're being held at. It'll be a long journey, but I know in the end, it'll be all worth it. So hopefully, we will all accomplish this together and learn something about ourselves throughout...not to mention if anyone stops us, they're gonna be some major butt-kicking."

"I'm starting to like this leader already." Ryo said to himself.

"And also...regardless of our differences, we're still cool with each other. I'm always one to treat others the way I want to be treated and I know you guys are the same way." Max added.

Everyone agreed and he looks at his adopted parents and from the looks on their faces, he knew that they were extremely proud and he said to the others, "You guys ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's roll." Max said.

Everyone went behind Max and both Mako and Reiko waved them 'bye' and they couldn't be any more prouder of Max and his role as a leader in this mission and Mako knew in his heart that he will succeed. Takami then went to both of them and he said, "I'll watch out for Max for you guys."

"You promise?" asked Mako.

Takami bowed to both of them and he said, "I promise."

He catches up with the rest of them and within no time, they have already left the Valley of Peace to make their way on their journey that will be considered the most amazingly epic one of their lives.

* * *

And a promise Takami will definitely keep! Root for Max!


	7. Leadership Skills

Max's first day as a leader! Let's see how he does!

* * *

Chapter 7: Leadership Skills

As they left the Valley of Peace, everyone was pretty much looking to see what kind of leadership skills Max has, but unbeknownst to them, Max pretty much has the qualities that no one would even know yet or even figured out before. For Takami, he's pretty much cool with the fact that a little cub has a chance to lead and he hopes to help him out as much as possible, but he's also aware that a certain tiger master might showcase a lot of envy and bitterness towards him so in case something goes down, he's gonna be one to diffuse it when it gets out of control.

Max looks up at the map that Takami gave and sees the ones that will lead from the Valley to where Arizona and Sierra are held at and Takami asked, "So what's the game plan?"

"The game plan?" asked Max.

"Yeah, all leaders need a plan to figure out the basis for every mission." Takami answered.

Max figured that he must have a lot to learn, but he looks up at Takami and the rest of them in the eye as he explains the details of this plan. He said, "All righty...this is my first day, so try to take it easy."

"Of course." Layla answered.

Everyone huddled up as a group and Max said, "From this map that Takami gave me, it can give us a clear position to where my wolf brother is being captive. We just left the Valley of Peace and from those bamboo sticks around us...and if we follow those pathways in these little squiggly lines, we should be able to reach that big, scary looking tower in a few days."

"Okay. So...that would mean we'd have to travel at least 40 miles from here to there." Takami answered.

Then, Max takes a look at where the tower is held and with a twinge of surprise, he turns to the others and said, "The tower stands further near the Wall of China."

Everyone became surprised to hear that it's located near the Wall of China, even Tigress was suddenly blown away by what Max elaborated on that and she asked, "How can anyone have a tower located on the Great Wall?"

"Looks to me that someone might want to see the entire wall all the time." Max answered.

Takami patted his head and said, "I'll be your co-leader and navigator for this mission. Good work, Max."

"Thanks. If we are gonna walk around for days, we're gonna a lot of stuff; food, water, tents, extra clothing, rope, arrows and bows, blankets, dynamite, lanterns and we need to follow the buddy system." Max added.

That last part definitely shocked Tigress the most when he mentioned 'buddy system' and asked, "Why throw that out there?"

"Hey, you never know when someone gets lost. You have to always keep an eye on your buddy at all times to make sure he or she doesn't stray off." Max replied.

Tigress twitched her eye after that answer and Phoenix told her, "And he learned that at only eight. Kid's a genius."

"One question; why did you mention dynamite?" asked Ryo.

Max unzips one bag and shows them a few sticks of actual dynamite and he said, "For emergencies only...just in case."

"Shouldn't you need someone to light it up?" asked Tigress, her arms crossed.

"Of course. That's why I'm gonna let Takami handle lighting it and I'll just throw it somewhere." Max answered.

Takami looks up at Max for a second and asked, "Do you know how to handle dynamite?"

"Of course. How else did I learn after throwing 12 sticks while me and my family were out camping and faced a few bandits who tried to put us in a cage?" Max asked.

"Oh yeah...I remember that. You were throwing dynamite sticks like it was no one's business and broke through every single cage open." Phoenix stated.

Logan chuckled at this and said, "You almost scared the crap out of me though when you held them for a second."

Max places them back on the bag and he said to them, "Guess we should keep moving. There's no telling what could happen to Arizona."

As they went their way, Tigress was definitely fuming that she was outsmarted by Max's surviving/safety skills and she just took out her anger on a tree and just kicked it down in half to release the tension, not knowing the rest just witnessed what just happened.

"Takami...don't wanna cause too much drama, but your master's a nuisance." Logan muttered.

"I have a feeling that she's gonna drive half of us crazy." K.C. said.

Kiba rolled his eyes at that and said, "She drives all of us crazy."

She eventually caught up with them and she told Max, "Stay out of my way and we won't have any problems."

"Oh, that's okay." Max said.

Tigress snarled at him in response and Takami immediately went up to her and said, "This is the kid's first day, so can you cool it for a while? Besides, he knows what he's doing."

She definitely felt like this is gonna be the worst mission she's ever been in, especially with the fact that a tiger cub is leading it and she wanted to just tear him to shreds, but that wouldn't look right and she just scoffed at him and decided to go on with it.

Takami scratched the back of his head and he said to Max, "Don't worry about her. She'll get used to you leading us."

"I hope you're right." Max said.

* * *

Boy, Tigress is getting a bunch of leader envy towards Max, isn't she? We'll get some more coming up!


	8. Keeping the Peace

Two sets of drama in this chapter; Tigress' first sense of Max's envy and Fung and the crocs make a return...but they won't know what will hit them!

* * *

Chapter 8: Keeping the Peace

The gang continued on and the more Tigress looked at Max, the more irritated, jealous and furious she gets because he was the leader and it felt like she should've been a perfect choice for a leader because she has the most experience and that she's older than Max and if she wanted to, she wanted to challenge him to a duel to see who will be the leader throughout the rest of the mission. But if she did, it would actually mean her jealous rage would completely put Max's skills in jeopardy, not to mention the whole mission would be messed up.

Throughout most of the day, the gang had walked a total of 12 miles away from the Valley of Peace, so it's been the whole entire starting point since early in the morning and with afternoon coming up, Max wanted to know if anyone needed a little break or some lunch just to they can feel fulfilled enough to continue on and he asked, "Hey, guys. How you holding up?"

"We couldn't complain, bud." Kiba replied.

"We're doing okay so far." Logan agreed.

Then, Max asked them, "Okay, if you guys need a little break to stretch or anything, say 'aye'."

One-by-one, everyone replied 'Aye' after some major walking and they needed a little break before they could keep going and it was what most of them needed the most and after that, Max unzips his bag to share a few snacks with the gang and from the minute Ryo looked up, he was definitely hungry for every morsel Max brought out and wants a piece of it.

"Hey, guys...anyone need some snacks?" asked Max.

Ryo immediately sprinted over to Max and he frantically asked, "What do you have? What do you have?"

Max chuckled nervously as he saw Ryo go stir-hungry crazy over the snacks and he said, "Hyper down. There's enough for everyone."

Takami chuckles as he went in front of both Ryo and Max and he said, "You'll have to excuse Ryo. He has what you call a bottomless black hole."

"I can't help it if I'm hungry, T.K. When I see food, you know I get excited for it." Ryo said, excitedly.

K.C. scoffed in response and said, "You must be excited a lot."

"Anyways...I got some granola bars, fruits, cookies, carrots and rice balls. Which ones you guys want?" asked Max.

"Why even count it out? It's like...so hard to choose what I like to eat the most." Ryo replied, looking very anxious to choose.

Most of the others picked each food they choose and Max got himself some berries, mangos and cookies for a little snack and he stared eating most of those and he didn't notice Tigress standing in front of him and when he looked up, he might've thought she wanted some of those and he asked, "I'm sorry. Did you want any?"

Tigress got down to his level and she angrily looked at him and responded, "I don't want anything of what you got."

"But you know...you might need to refuel yourself because we've got a long journey to head to. Besides, those who don't eat might crash." Max answered.

Tigress definitely got confused by what he had meant by that and asked, "What does that even mean?"

"If you don't eat, your tummy's gonna be like the size of a twig...just skin and bones." Max answered.

She got severly heated and grabbed him by the shirt and said, "Listen, we've been out here all day and already I've had it up to here with your leading skills! I honestly don't know why Master Shifu would make the stupid decision to let a child lead us, but of all people, why should it be you?! If you had any common sense, I would've been the leader!"

Max got a little nervous about her anger levels, but he had the strength and said, "Chill out, dude. It's my first day and I'm doing the best I can."

"I hate it when kids are smarter than us adults! You come prepared and what do you know about being prepared for anything?! And do not call me 'dude'! I am a lady!" Tigress growled.

Takami immediately yanked Tigress down from behind and he growled at her for starting up this drama and he said, "What is going on here?!"

"I was eating and Tigress came up to me and I asked her if she wanted anything and then she went all kinds of crazy and planned to fight me!" Max answered.

"Well, I would've! There's no way that I'll be told by a stupid kid what to do!" Tigress shouted.

"Hey! Cool it!" Takami growled.

Both tigers growled at each other and Max really didn't like to see that right in front of him and he yanks both of their tails to cut this out and Tigress was gonna head to the violent direction for Max yanking her tail and she roared at his face and wanted to strike him, but Layla soon stopped it as she pulled her out of there and said, "That's enough, Tigress! Don't you hurt this kid!"

She grew shocked and angered that both Takami and Layla are sticking up for Max and she asked, "How dare you defend him?!"

"Listen, Max is doing well as a leader! And this is his first day! I don't know why you're such a pain in the neck towards him!" Layla growled.

Phoenix definitely agreed with what Layla just said and he said, "Let's all calm down and just talk about this without resorting to killing my brother. Besides, this is really not worth it."

Meanwhile, Max hears some resulting coming from one of the bushes and he went closer to find out where it came from and Takami looks over and sees him on the edge of a cliff and quickly comes to him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I heard someone coming." Max answered.

Suddenly, Takami hears the sound of rustling coming by and as everyone else tries their best not to stir up drama, Hope asked, "What's going on?"

"We might have some company...very bad company." Max answered.

Everyone was in silent mode to determine who's coming towards their way and not long after that, Max first saw a hammer swinging through and it was about to hit Faith and he immediately pushed her out of the way before it even hit her straight and when it dropped down on the floor, Max quickly said, "That was close. You okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Maxie." Faith said, in relief.

"Darn it! Gah-ri, you were supposed to hit on the little kid!"

They all got familiar with that voice coming from anywhere and almost immediately, in comes the croc bandits coming in and all of them were prepped up for a fight with them and Fung said, "Well, well, well...if it isn't the mini squad geeks."

"Who you calling 'geeks'...besides yourselves?!" Layla growled.

Gah-ri then comes to them and said, "We're here to steal everything you got and you ain't gonna do nothing about it!"

"You know, for a group of bandits, you must really suck at keeping your plans a secret." Max spat out.

Fung growls at Max for making that little comment and he said, "You little...for crying out...you...just get him!"

The crocs charged at Max, but he slid underneath their legs leaving the butt kicking up to Faith, Layla, Takami, Ryo and Kiba and they charged at them by kicking, punching and slamming them down in the face while Tigress, Hope, Sage, K.C. and Yow-Ni got the two of them and Tigress quickly punched and slammed them down and grabbed their tails to bashed them in the head as hard as she could, then passes it down to Hope and kicks them straight in the nuts and said, "That was for Faith!"

Sage, K.C. and Yow-Ni were the next ones to tackle down all of the crocs and when one tried to bash them with his hammer, all three wolves ducked and dodged down as quick as they could and Sage was the first one to give him a kick to the jaw and K.C. grabbed ahold of his tail, swung it all around and threw him in the air and Yow-Ni jumped through the trees and kicked him in the shin.

Faith, Layla, Phoenix and Kaizer faced Gah-ri and Phoenix flickered his face and his snout and gives him a kick to the face while Faith and Layla beat him in the back and side with their feet and pounds them and Kaizer was the next one to flip him around 12 times and kicks him in the stomach as deep.

Takami, Ryo, Kiba were fighting with Fung and as Fung tries to tackle them down, Takami used his pyro to set the back of his pants on fire and as Fung tries to put out the flames, Kiba ends up kicking him in the nuts and slapping him in the jaw and Ryo did some quick kicking and drive-punch to the jaw.

Fung groans at this and he was not gonna come out as a loser and said, "Darn it! Can I like beat you now so we can steal your stuff?!"

"How about you forget it and get your moronic slimy scales out of here?" Takami growled.

"There's nothing you guys can do about it!" Fung said, as he comes up to finish it off, only to get rope slapped in the face and butt hard.

They all looked up and saw Max wearing a black japanese headband, war paint on his face and he said, "You leave them alone!"

The other crocs started to make fun of Max for thinking that he's actually gonna stop them and Fung said, "What are you gonna do, scare us with your cuteness?"

Max wasn't all that bothered by their stupid comments and he growled at them and quickly ran up to Fung and clawed his butt and tail, making Fung scream in pain and then, Max brought out a whip and whipped Fung's back and punched him in the back and kicked his head and then, he grabbed ahold of his hand, spun him around and kicks him in the jaw, making Fung fall down out of the cliff.

The other bandits were really scared after what Max just did and the cub turns around and he asked, "Anyone else?"

All of them joined Fung as they fell down off of that cliff and Max turns around and the rest of them were completely surprised by what Max just did...even Sage, Yow-Ni and K.C. couldn't believe that it just happened. Max walks over to them and he asked, "You guys okay?"

"Whoa...where did you get those moves?" asked Takami.

"How did you get that war paint?" asked Kaizer.

Max chuckled softly in response and he replied, "Got it from all of you guys. Sometimes, I have to learn how to fight for both myself and for you guys too."

"Wow...thanks. You were so cool!" Kiba cheered.

Hope then comes up to Max and hugs him tightly and said, "Thanks for saving Faith."

"Anytime. We should really keep going." Max replied.

Everyone pretty much agreed with what Max just said as they got their stuff together and Tigress stood there and could not believe that this kid actually did this and fought off those croc bandits without even showing fear. She felt completely ticked about this and asked, "Why couldn't I have thought of that?"

* * *

Didn't think Max had it in him, huh? That will the last you see of the crocs. Stick around for more!


	9. End of First Day

A first day wrap-up!

* * *

Chapter 9: End of First Day

As the sun begins to set, everyone has been walking all across parts of China and after a little face-off with the croc bandits, everyone really got used to Max being the youngest leader of this mission after finishing them off with his ways of handling major situations his own way. Kaizer completely saw a different person in Max that afternoon and he was starting to become very impressed with his performance on the first day and how he handles himself amongst every situation, mostly the drama between him and Tigress' jealousy.

Takami became the most amazed by how impressive Max is a rookie leader and the cub's skills looked as if he's been doing it his whole life and he's really looking forward to see what else he could do in the next day. As Max saw the sun go down, he figured that this would be a good idea to set up camp and Takami asked, "So...how much further?"

"We've been walking for a long time...so we're like 20 miles away now." Max replied, looking at the map.

Takami lets out a big sigh and he said, "That's a long way around."

"Very long. We'll continue on in the morning, so for now...it's best that we should set camp tonight." Max added.

Takami nodded in agreement and he said to the others, "All right, you heard the kid. We'll camp here for the night and set off in the morning."

Everyone began pitching their tents and set up everything for the night before they can continue making their way to where Arizona and Sierra are held off at and around the same time, Phoenix and Logan helped pitch a tent to sleep in where it'll be them and Max together in one tent and after they were through, Phoenix and Takami helped start up a fire, to which Takami gladly obliged to start off the fire, surprising Phoenix.

"Dude...I could definitely rely on you for fire." Phoenix said, blown away.

"Well, don't get too used to it." Takami added.

Soon after, Phoenix brought in a small pot of noodles and dumplings that he placed in under the fire to re-cook them for dinner and Kaizer sat down on the ground and he looked up at Phoenix and said, "What a day."

"Yeah, you're telling me. But...it's all good though." Phoenix replied.

Kaizer looked to Phoenix as he also sat down on the log and he asked, "Phoenix, right?"

"Yep, that's my name. My original name's Raizo Phoenix Bushido-Akio, but for some reason, my dad likes the name Phoenix because he thinks of it as like rising above from obstacles or challenges." Phoenix replied.

Kaizer nods his head in understanding with how a name like that could mean rising above and he asked, "Is Max one of those?"

"A phoenix? The kid's really strong. You know, you talk a bout a kid who lived a very rough and horrific life when he was a smaller cub with two birth parents taking advantage of you and being abandoned by them, you expect them to be so distant, angry, shameful and guilty because of something so terrible happened. It may be true with Max, but my dad always has his ways of seeing a true potential in him and that he is something. It took him a few months for him to get over that and once he saw what we're all about when he was slmost seven, he really started to turn around. Everything my dad does, Max emulates. He's like a normal kid and he's been easy-going, full of energy, intelligent and if you teach him anything, he gets it so quickly." Phoenix explained.

Kaizer widened his eyes to that and he didn't know Max was like that when he get used to being in that family and it almost made him feel like he wanted to be the same way he is; not letting the past define him and he asked, "About Max...does he still feel sad and angry after what his birth parents did to him?"

"Of all the kids my dad has fostered, most kids have suffered a lot and always feel like they'll never be good enough for anything when they get older...but not Max. He got over it and he always looks at the brighter side of everything. I think Arizona gave him that little nudge that he can do anything he sets his mind to. But he doesn't really let anything like this get to his head. He's still a good kid and he just inspires us to be a better person and shines a light to everyone of us...even you." Phoenix stated.

That part Kaizer got really touched by and he just felt this overwhelming feeling inside of him like he's really amazed with what Max has gone through and how he became so friendly and easy-going after going through a dark time in his life. Phoenix checked on the food to see if it's ready and soon after, Takami sat down on the log next to Kaizer and he said, "I sorta overheard everything you guys said about Max. Is it all true?"

"I'm still trying to figure out if it's for real or not." Kaizer replied, hiding the real answer to Takami.

"It's all true. Max can surprise you." Phoenix responded.

Later on, everyone gathered around to eat some noodles and Max sat between Takami and Layla as they gorged down some noodles and he also witnessed Ryo's eating habits as he chowed down an entire bowl of noodles and all of them responded with a little weirded out look as he ate them so quickly, gets another bowlful and gobbles it down like it's the last dinner.

"Ryo...chill, man. There's plenty enough for everyone." Phoenix stated, trying to calm Ryo's eating patterns down.

Takami sighed amusedly at Ryos' eating and he said, "Phoenix...any way you say it, Ryo has a very unlimited stomach. He can't stop eating even if his life depended on it."

"I bet he'll reach the Dragon Warrior's weight soon." Logan added.

Ryo takes a deep gulp and a big burp after eating and he said, "You guys sound ridiculous. Besides, it's been a long day. A wolf's gotta eat."

"I just hope he doesn't eat them all in one sitting. We've only got enough to last this entire trip." Phoenix said.

Layla looks at Max while he's eating and she lets out a smile and said to him, "Maxie...for a first timer, you really know your skills when it comes to being a leader."

"Yeah, you did pretty good for your first day." Takami replied.

"Thanks. I didn't think I'd expect that to happen." Max said, a little bashful.

Tigress scoffed at this and she muttered, "Obviously not."

Hope couldn't agree more and the brown bear said, "Most kids would never get the chance to do something big without a second thought. You're really something special, little guy."

"Aw, stop." Max said, chuckling.

"Nah, Hope's right. If anything, we definitely believe you got what it takes to be a leader." Faith said, happily.

Takami then said, "He's still got a lot to learn though, but I do believe that he's gonna be awesome through the whole trip."

Phoenix couldn't agree more with that and he was very happy for his little tiger brother and said, "I'm proud of you, Maxim."

"Yeah, I gotta admit...the kid's amazing." K.C. added.

As everyone starts commending Max for his first time as a leader, the tiger cub felt completely humbled by this and he knows that it wouldn't change who he is and he said, "Aw, you guys...I really appreciate being given the chance to do so, but I'm still the same kid."

"The same kid who always pranks me every morning back at home with a fake hand gag." Logan added.

"And you always fall for it everytime." Max said, snickering.

Then, Takami looks at Max and tells him, "Listen...I'm sorry about my master taking out her rage on you for no reason. I'll make sure that it'll never happen again."

Takami spent the last sentence glaring at him and that rubbed Tigress the wrong way as she lets out a snarl directed at both tigers, specifically Max for that and she said, "My own student calls me out...and I'm supposed to deal with this kid being a leader? I'll bet it was just sheer luck that he got us through those crocs."

"Do we have to do this now?" asked Faith, exasperatedly.

"I'm with Faith on this one." Hope said, quickly.

Tigress then used her dangerous glares at Hope, in which the bear shuddered in fear and said, "You stay out of this!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Can we all like sit down, take a deep breath and count to ten before someone gets hurt, please?" Max said, in the calmest way possible.

"YOU SHUT UP!" Tigress screamed.

"You're not supposed to say 'shut up'." Max said.

Tigress completely felt angered by the fact that Max just told her that she's not supposed to say 'shut up' to him and she said, "I will not let you rule over all of us! You're going to regret standing up to me."

Suddenly, Kaizer throws his katana sword to the ground where Tigress was nearly standing and he said, "Put a lid on it! Do us all a favor and leave Max alone before one of us will do something that we might regret later."

Tigress looked really alarmed and shocked that Kaizer...of all people...would also defend Max and Ryo echoed in on the same response and said, "Yeah, this kid's doing great. Why you gotta mess it up for him?"

"Again, I'm sorry, Max." Takami added.

"Eh, it's okay. She doesn't bother me one bit...not yet, anyway. I was kinda expecting it and I sorta knew it was coming, so I might as well prepare for it." Max admitted.

"Wait...you were expecting it?" asked Faith.

Max nodded his head and replied, "You know the old saying, 'wish for the best and plan for the worst'? Whatever she says doesn't really matter because none of it is true."

Logan chuckled at this and it's like Max didn't really care about any outbursts Tigress puts in on him and he said, "Maxie...okay, I'm convinced. You do have what it takes being a leader after all."

Tigress just walked away in a huff after everything she said to Max brushed it off like it's nothing, but unaware that Max is a little bit nervous about this and asked, "Was it something I said?"

"Nah, it's nothing. Just give it some time. She'll come around...hopefully when she doesn't claw you in the face." Kiba stated.

"AKIBA!" every shouted.

"What'd I say?" Kiba whined.

* * *

That was interesting. Next up...a little Takami/Layla moment just for Spiritual LoneWolfXIII!


	10. Plans for Tomorrow

Plans for day two of the mission is underway! Every leader has to have a plan for an adventure in the second day, right? And also...we have a little Takami/Layla moment.

* * *

Chapter 10: Plans for Tomorrow

After that, everyone was getting ready to rest up and Takami went over to Max and he said, "You've done great today, Max. The second day is gonna be a huge challenge as a leader. Are you ready to handle it?"

"Uh-huh. I'd do anything for my wolf brother. I've got some rope, bows and arrows, dynamite and other stuff to use in case we get ourselves in a roadblock or something like that." Max answered.

That definitely impressed Takami to see that he's come fully prepared with everything he needs and said, "All righty then. That's awesome."

Takami immediately gave Max a little fist bump and he continued on saying, "I'm proud of ya, man. Maybe we might need you if some random baddies try to stop us."

Max then unsheaths the claws to demonstrate how much he'll use to fight off...if he needs to. He then responds, "I may be a cute little cub, but...watch out."

"Do not let me get on your bad side." Takami stated.

Suddenly, Layla comes over and sees Takami and Max talking and she felt deeply impressed with both of them and she walks over to the two of them and said, "Okay boys...I think it's time for some shuteye."

"Okay. Good night, guys." Max said, as he walks away.

Layla walks from behind and hugs him deeply and said, "I'm so proud of you, Maxie. You're a very brave boy."

"Thanks. But it's you guys that's the most brave." Max answered.

She pats him on the head and bids them a good night as Max walks over to the tent to rest up and both Takami and Layla walked to their tent, hand-in-hand and as they went in, Layla said, "You and Max have gotten pretty close today."

"Hey...Max is pretty awesome as a leader and I'm definitely looking forward to see what else he does tomorrow. But I gotta say...it's very big for someone like Max to handle all the responsibility for the safety of others." Takami replied, taking his vest off.

Layla takes a deep sigh and as soon as Takami heard it, he can tell that she's a little worried about something and he sat next to her and asked, "You okay?"

"I'm a little worried." Layla replied.

"About Max?"

Layla then turns to a vestless Takami and said, "About both Tigress and Max. First off; Max's safety...when I saw him take down those crocs, my heart definitely skipped a beat and I just said to myself, 'Please don't hurt yourself'. Max is like my little cub and it would just break my heart if something happened to him."

Takami couldn't agree more and related to what she meant and said, "Yeah, me too. I couldn't imagine doing that at eight years old. I would've been scared to death...but what doesn't kill him made him stronger. A mission like this...it's not fun and games. You're not even aware of the dangers that land right in front of you."

"I know what that feels like. He sees me as his mother and you as a father and brother." Layla added.

Takami was obviously flattered by that label and he said, "I made a promise to his adopted parents that I would look out for him and that's a promise I'm willing to keep. If anything had happened to him, I could never forgive myself."

"Now with him and Tigress, I have no idea why she would be so hostile towards Max being the leader. He didn't do anything to deserve this. I'm kinda afraid that she would do some harm to him one day." Layla replied.

Takami placed his paw on top of her chin and said, "Don't worry about that. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow and that I'll keep an eye on her. If she does go too far, I might go to extremes to keep the peace."

That comforted Layla to know that Takami would stick up for Max if Tigress goes way too far with her bitter behavior and she looks at Takami in the eyes and placed her paw above his shoulder and chest and said, "Have I ever mentioned you look handsome?"

Takami blinked a few times and didn't notice that Layla was glaring lovingly into his eyes and he replied, "No...but you're beautiful in my eyes."

"Takami...wouldn't it be wonderful one day if we would be parents? You and I see Max as like a son to us...and it makes me hope that we would have that same experience together someday." Layla replied.

"I've been thinking the same way." Takami said, softly.

Both tigers looked into each other's eyes and their lips touched theirs and started kissing very passionately and after a quick second, Takami whispered, "I love you...and I'll do anything to keep you safe. Always."

Layla responded to a purr as she nuzzled his chest and Takami couldn't help but wrap his arms around her for some much needed comfort and he said, "We should rest. We got a big day tomorrow."

They both laid down on the ground and Layla giggled as she said, "Good night, Kami."

"Good night, Layla." Takami whispered.

They both closed their eyes as they drifted off to sleep with Takami's arms around Layla and Takami hopes that he'll help Max fulfill his duties as a leader and that he'll keep Max from harm or in another fight with Tigress, whichever comes first.

* * *

Was that a sweet moment or what? Hazards, weigh in please! And we've got plenty more coming up!


	11. Quick Spar

Thought I would throw in a little bit of a quick sparring match between Tigress and Max and a little bit of training is her idea to test Max's skills to see if they're for real...but what she doesn't know is that he's got a little something in his bag of tricks.

* * *

Chapter 11: Quick Spar

The next morning comes around and everyone's starting to wake up while most wanted to sleep in for a little longer; Sage, Ryo and Kiba for example...but everyone else is already getting ready to start off the day and as Max got out of the tent, he scratches his back, butt and does a little bit of stretching to keep himself wide awake and energetic to save his wolf brother and Sierra. He looks up and sees that Tigress is busy meditating and he knows that he shouldn't disturb her so he quietly went back to the tent until...

"Up a little early, Max?" asked Tigress.

That pretty much surprised Max when Tigress knew he was awake without her witnessing it and he said, "Good morning to you too."

"When I'm done meditating, we're gonna do a mini-sparring session." Tigress added.

That part pretty much put Max into a mixture of nervousness and anxiety that she just put in a mini sparring session out there and said, "Um...shouldn't I have a say in this?"

"No. It's my idea. We need to do a little bit of training at a time while we're gone." Tigress replied.

"Oooookay, then...that's weird, but we still get to keep moving, right?" Max asked.

"Yes, we do. I wanna test you to see if those moves you did to the crocs were really your skills." Tigress added, with a growl.

Max could tell that she's questioning his skills and he was starting to get a little irritated with the fact that she doesn't believe his skills were really his own and he didn't say anything, but accepted the challenge anyway as he walks back to the tent and gathered up his black japanese headband and as he came out, he sees Kaizer walking past him and he said, "Morning, Kai."

Kaizer turns around and sees Max wearing the headband and asked, "Morning. What's with the headband?"

"Tigress challenged me for a little mini sparring session." Max replied.

That seemed pretty unusual for Tigress to come up with something like that, but definitely not surprising that she wants to instill some training while on a mission and Kaizer knelt down to his level and whispered to him, "You nervous?"

"Nope. She doesn't know it yet though...because I have something up my sleeve." Max whispered back.

That really sparked interest for Kaizer and asked, "Like what?"

Max made a mischevious smile and gave him a wink and said, "You'll see."

Later on...

Everyone gathered around on the campsite where Tigress brought in Takami to start off a little sparring session and Takami definitely felt the need to do a little bit of training as they began and Tigress started of with a strong uppercut, but Takami dodged them quickly and both of them threw some punches, kicks and multiple flips and Takami got through those with quick ease.

Max is rooting for Takami as he's eating a few grapes and Layla was definitely rooting for Takami as well and then she asked Max, "Eating grapes?"

"Yep. I like to fuel myself up if I'm being asked to do a little bit of sparring. Can't be trained on an empty stomach." Max added.

"Kinda like Ryo and Po." Faith pointed out.

Ryo glared at Faith after making that little response and he's not one to take this very lightly and asked, "Really, Faith? You just hit me below the black wolf belt."

"And then some." Faith smirked.

Kiba exclaimed at Faith's comeback and he playfully punched on Ryo's shoulder and said, "You got burned, dude!"

Ryo growls at Kiba for that unneccesary punch to the arm and in turn, punched him in the gut and said, "Who's burned now?"

Soon enough, Takami finished it off with a flip to the wrist when he made a quick run around and knocked Tigress in the shin and everyone cheered for Takami and Max pumps his fist in the air for support and said, "Touchdown, Kami-Kam!"

Tigress got up and saw that Takami's skills have progressed even more and she said, "I think you've gotten better. Good luck going higher than me."

"No worries. I'll find a way to breat your record." Takami said, with a friendly smirk.

And then, Tigress had her eyes set on Max and she told him to come forth and with zero amounts of nerves, he suddenly faced her and everyone's wondering what's Max gonna do and his brothers were gaining huge support for Max and Tigress was determined to shatter his confidence...for payback.

Max bowed to her for respect and all Tigress could do was snarl at him and said, "Don't go for all that cutesy stuff."

"Who says it's cutesy?" Max replied.

"This is a big fight between Little Leader Cub and Angry Tiger Chick." Kiba announced.

Tigress turned to Kiba and growled at him after that responsive name and she said, "Must you go there?"

"Tigress...are we gonna stand here talking all day or are we gonna fight?" Max asked.

Ryo whistled in response and Kiba lets out a big 'Ooooooooooh, snap' after Max said it to her, thinking that them's fighting words and Tigress glared angrily at him after that and she said, "You'll pay for your attitude!"

She immediately came at him on all fours and started kicking him, punching him and thrashing him with everything she's got at him and after Max got a lot of takedowns from her, he knew that it was time to strike back and he knows that he's not going down like that and when she tries it again, he immediately kicked her in the stomach and then got back up on his feet.

Tigress snarls in response and she charged at him again, but Max has some tricks up his sleeve when he tumbled under her legs and then kicks her in the butt and does a backflip and strikes her straight to the side, making her trip and fall over.

Kaizer was blown away with every move Max has gotten...and at such a young age which surprised him even more.

She quickly got herself back up and unsheathes her claws to go after him, but when she turned around...he was nowhere to be seen. She looked around to see if he could be anywhere and everyone was curious to where Max could be and Kaizer immediately assumed that this is one of those tricks under his sleeve things that he mentioned.

"Where is the little show-stealing twerp?" Tigress growled.

"That could be a foul; calling out your opponent." Ryo added.

Tigress turned around and glared at Ryo and said, "Was anyone talking to you? I cannot lose this round to a mere child and I would appreciate it if you'd shut your mouths up so I can brutally defeat him!"

All of them were unaware that Max is right above that tree branch clinging onto it and waiting for the right minute to drop down and tackle her and as he's waiting...Max unsheathes his claws, climbs towards the branch, starts running, slides down the branches and then leaps up in the air and attacks her from the side, tumbling down and pinning her down to the shoulder and kicks her straight to the face.

Everyone started cheering for Max and his little move he just did and Tigress was shocked that he actually did that and he didn't even go down without a fight. She retaliated by punching, kicking and throwing him down just for that move and when she pushed him down to the tree, Max always got himself back up and that just frustrates her to no end that he never gives up.

"Why won't you be defeated?! I've tried hunting you down and yet you continue to fight? I'm not gonna stand for this!" Tigress roared.

"Are you finished yet?" asked Max.

Tigress growled at this and wanted to end it once and for all and Takami could tell that neither of them is backing down, but Max is one to always keep going no matter how many times he falls back down.

Both tigers began fighting again and Tigress wanted him to lose so badly...but also teach him that he shouldn't be a leader in the first place and he dodged and ducked down every punch, kick and blocked every move she made and when she attempted to punch him in the face, he slid down to the ground which resulted into Tigress punching a tree.

"Missed me!" Max said, giggling.

"I've had enough of your child's play!" Tigress shouted.

Tigress ran over to him to knock him down, but Max climbs up to the tree, circles himself around this one branch and then punched her out with the use of his head.

"Now that's no child's play." Hope said, his jaw dropped.

Sage was deeply impressed with Max's fighting skills and it's like he's got the swagger of a kung-fu professional at age eight and he said, "Remind me to never give him noogies."

Ryo started cheering for Max and Kiba pumped his fist in the air as a response and shouted, "Victory for Little Leader Cub by a head-butt!"

Everyone else cheered for Max that he won this sparring session and both Layla and Faith gave him a kiss on each cheek, which made Takami and Hope with their jaws dropped after witnessing that.

Kaizer was definitely most impressed and really stunned that he actually did this and he said, "Wow, little guy! You've got the strength and courage of 25 cats!"

"Eh, no biggie." Max added, taking off his headband.

As Tigress got up, she found herself knowing that her ability to take Max down for payback definitely backfired and she came up to him and got super angry at him that he won and said, "This is unfair!"

"Hey, it was your idea to spar with me. I just rolled along with it." Max added, with a friendly smile on his face.

Tigress groans at this and she thought that this would be a mini-spar, but she stupidly diverted it into a competition and Max said, "All righty...you guys should get something quick to eat and pack up. We've got a long way ahead of us."

Everyone quickly did what they said and Max joined in as well, but stopped and looked at a very angry Tigress and said, "Good fight."

He stuck out his paw hoping for a handshaek, but Tigress growled at him instead and rejected the handshake as she walked away from him and Max lets out a deep sigh and said, "Oh well."

* * *

Well...didn't expect that from an eight year old cub, huh? He may seem sweet and innocent, but this guy will pack a punch...so don't get on his bad side. We've got more coming up next!


	12. Grand Scheme

We now check on Arizona and Sierra back in the tower...alongside some of the guards/members of Vigilante Mafia.

* * *

Chapter 12: Grand Scheme

At the prison tower, Arizona looks down on the ground, seeing only his feet and the floor as he keeps thinking about Max and having to sit here and not escape to even see him devastates him really hard to no end and those few days at the cell really made him so helpless that he couldn't do anything and he hated that feeling that he couldn't do anything to get out of this situation.

Sierra looks over and sees her boyfriend feeling down and upset and she doesn't like seeing him upset and helpless and she asked him, "Are you all right?'

Arizona slowly closed his eyes and then turned to Sierra and replied, "No."

She couldn't blame him for that and she definitely felt like they were in deep trouble while being shackled by a crazy villain that wanted to finish them off for almost setting some innocent wolves free to rescue them and she said, "Zona...I don't wanna die."

"Neither do I. If we can free ourselves from these things, we would and I would love to give that Zanki guy a taste of his own medicine for what he did to you." Arizona replied, in anger.

Sierra lifted her leg towards Arizona's side to cool him down and she said to him, "That creep does deserve it. But I'm also worried about you."

"Why?" asked Arizona.

Sierra then lets out a deep exhale and looked at Arizona straight in the eye and replied, "The whole time I was in this mission with you, I got really scared for you. I know you would do anything to protect me and the people you care about...but there were times that the thought of losing you would kill me deeply. I could never find someone like you that's so kind, selfless and one who's been through a lot that finds the strength to keep going. Believe it or not, you've inspired me to be a fighter. But every now and then, I'm scared of the fact that you might die. That's why I wanted to go on this mission with you so that I can both defend myself and have you as my safety net."

Arizona then looked up at Sierra in the eye after admitting everything she just said and had no idea she always felt that way and he replied, "You were scared for me?"

"Everytime you go away. I'm always afraid you'd never come back." Sierra said, sadly.

Arizona would love nothing more than to just comfort her and wrap his arms around her to make sure she'll never be alone and instead, he just nuzzled his nose to hers and said, "I'm here now, Sierra...and I'll always be there for you. But there may come a time that you have to know the reasons I do these things is so that I can come home to you. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you someday."

It comforted her right away and both wolves touched their muzzles together and Sierra said, "I'm also worried about Max."

Then, Arizona started thinking a lot about his tiger brother and he knows just how worried he could be that his wolf brother isn't coming and he said, "Me too. I hope he's okay."

* * *

At the base of the tower

Zanki walks across the hallways of the dark tower onto his chambers to pull in for a certain plot he's planning to the two prisoners attempting to free the imprisoned wolves and he goes through each and every single weapon possible to give them the ultimate price...death.

He thought about hammers, knives, daggers, swords, arrows to kill them, but he has a hard time picking a much more perfect weapon to choose from or an appropriate death sentence for them.

"Zanki, sir?"

Zanki looks up and saw one of his guard/Vigilante Mafia members standing in his chambers and he asked, "What do you want?"

"I brought in some noodles, dumplings and an antelope...just like you wanted it; tender, juicy and moist." the guard replied, bringing them all in.

As he sets it down to Zanki's desk, he stood there right in front of him and Zanki asked, "Is there anything else you want?"

"I understand you want to pick out a death sentencing for the two prisoners, correct?" the guard asked.

Zanki sighed in exasperation as he nods his head and the guard sat down on the ground and he said, "What if I gave you a suggestion for that kind of thing? You know that some people wanted to free those imprisoned wolves for a year and a half now since that big raid battle where we slaughtered the hell out of those that stopped us and protected them."

"That part I remember perfectly. And we told those wolves that if anyone attempts to escape...it's an immediate death sentence." Zanki replied.

"Precisely." the guard replied.

Zanki then looks up at the guard and asked, "So what kind of plan could you possibly think of now?"

"We've done head slicing, stabbing, slaughtering, shoving them down a cliff...and to be honest, those things are just too familiar to do even though it's our job. So...what I suggest for these two prisoners...is that we tie them up, drag them down to the other side of the tower and place their bodies on a roaring lava...and we watch them burn and melt into a burning pit of lava." the guard replied.

Zanki seemed very intrigued and interested with that plan right away and he liked the idea of setting prisoners on fire and he said, "Go on."

"We have to think of a time frame where we actually pull this off without a single hitch. All we have to do is unshackle the prisoners, place them in hand and leg cuffs and take them all the way to that other side and just punch them out in case they wanna start a fight with us and if we have to...we throw them over the lava and watch them burn down. Just say it's a warning to the imprisoned wolves if they ever escape." the guard said, with an evil smirk.

Zanki lets out a devious smirk and said, "So...that's your plan? I'm loving it so far. I'll go with that."

"Thanks, sir. When do you want to accomplish this?" asked the guard.

"Patience. We will do this plan in the next few days. And if anyone plans to recue them...you know what to do." Zanki said.

"Yes, sir." the guard said, before bowing out and dismissing himself.

* * *

Zanki's foul evil! We know that Max and the gang will kick Zanki's butt and rescue Arizona and Sierra! Next up, Max puts the extreme in extreme ideas when trying to wrestle a challenge!


	13. Major Obstacles

We now focus back on Max and the gang as they face a huge obstacle! Leave it up to Maxie with his quick thinking skills.

* * *

Chapter 13: Major Obstacles

Later athat morning, Max and the rest of the gang continued on as they ventured throughout several parts of China and throughout the entire way, Tigress' resentment towrds Max grew bigger and bigger and bigger, especially after the fact that he single-handedly defeated her in a sparring match earlier that morning and she could tell that his skills is considered a huge threat to her skills...and parts of the attention given by Takami and the others.

She just wanted to snap his head off and chuck it across a very deep surface and when Kaizer noticed her getting really ticked off, he could tell that it all revolved around how Max became the leader and quite frankly, he really did not like this any moment.

"Hey, Max...how much further is it now?" asked Kaizer.

Max looks up at the map and seeks another red line that directs closer towards the Great Wall and he replied, "It should be around 15 and a half miles."

"Sounds like we're halfway there." Takami pointed out.

"Won't be much longer now." Max added.

Tigress grew agitated with Max's leadership skills and spat out saying, "Why would an eight year old be so smart that it'll make the rest of us adults look so stupid?"

That did not sit well with both Takami and Kaizer over what Tigress just said...particularly Kaizer as he turned to her with a very annoyed look like he's gonna pop a huge vein on his face and said, "Excuse me? I'm almost hitting 18 here. Does that make me stupid?"

"Well no, but..."Tigress added, but got cut off my Kaizer.

"Then why the hell are you talking smack? It would help if you keep your big mouth shut for one day." Kaizer said, growling.

"Guys, please don't fight." Max said, turning to them.

"No one's talking to you, twerp. So keep your nose out of our business." Tigress stated, in a cold tone.

Kaizer definitely wasn't gonna stand there and hear Tigress keep on with her constant complaining and bitching and he turned his focus to Max and said, "Don't worry about her, Max. You're doing great."

"Thanks, Kai." Max added.

Takami then turns to his master and he glared at her with a very disapproving and annoyed look and lets out a stern growl, which took her by surprise and said, "Tigress, enough already. Let's let Max do what he does."

Just then, they noticed that he stopped and as everyone else did, they saw that they were in a ginormous cliff and the other side is further feet away from where they're standing and Max looked completely blown away by the size of that opening and said, "That view is bigger than me...even bigger than Po."

"Except Po's weight doesn't look like this." Hope added.

Most of them weren't sure about how they're gonna cross this way to the other side or how it will even be possible to even make it there and Kiba asked, "So...how are we gonna get there?"

"Are you sure this map of yours is locating right?" asked Tigress.

Max looked over to the map and sees this huge opening there that reaches the other side as it continues onto the road and replied, "Yeah, it does. There used to be a bridge here."

"A bridge?" asked Faith, surprisedly.

"About 20 years ago and it fell down to pieces. I say we just find another way around it because there's absolutely no way to cross this gap." Tigress stated.

Max began thinking of something more different to cross this and he knows that he won't follow anything Tigress says that will make him give up and suddenly, an idea crossed on his head and he said, "I got an idea."

Tigress groans at what Max just said and didn't really have that much confidence in Max's leadership skills and she asked, "Does it involve falling to our deaths?"

"Would you let the guy finish?" Kaizer growled.

Tigress did not like it when someone defends Max and she just kept herself quiet, but snarled at him for making that idea and Max went onto say, "See that tree branch over there?"

Everyone turned their attention to the biggest tree branch and nodded their heads after that and Max went on to say, "That's our best bet. What we need to do is tie up some rope and swing it all the way to the other side and land it."

Kiba is definitely interested into that idea right away because he would love nothing more than an adrenaline rush and he said, "Keep going."

"And we could also slide through another set of rope attached with some arrows to get to the other side." Max continued on.

Tigress scoffs at Max's little idea and she said, "That is just the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

"Do you have any other ideas?" asked Max, raising his eybrow.

She began thinking of one and she replied, "Why not just jump through it and land the other side?"

Then, everyone glared at Tigress' idea and each of them had a look that reads and screams 'WTF' in their heads and Sage said, "For once, I have agree with the little squirt."

Max turned his head and lets out a very deep glare at Sage and said, "Don't call me squirt."

"I think the rope idea sounds good. It's better than nothing." Layla added.

Tigress couldn't believe what just happened that they're actually going for Max's idea and she asked, "Are you all serious right now? You're willing to go the extra mile with that kid's idea?"

"You never know unless you try." Max replied.

Max then took out some rope out of his bag and twisted it on the tree and it has a very long length and Samurai used a big bow and arrow that also allows it to stick through the cliff and he shot three arrows and soon after, Max was going first to try it out and he shows no signs of nerves or fear whatsoever as he climbs up the tree.

Tigress became somewhat surprised and also kinda furious that Max has no second thoughts or any signs of fear in him as he tries this out and she asked, "What if it doesn't work? Have you thought about what could happen if it fails?"

"Nope. Besides, if I do, at least I'll land on my feet." Max responded.

Max takes a deep breath and he runs over to the tree branch and as he leaps up, he grabs onto the rope in which swings him in mid-air and as he goes all around, he lets go and slides up to the ropes with his feet and sticks it onto the other side. He gets himself up and gives the rest of the crew two thumbs up, leaving everyone else jaw-dropped and astonished that he actually accomplished it.

Everyone but Tigress was cheering for Max and he lets out a smile and said, "Nothing but rope!"

"Aw, man...I've seriously gotta try that!" Ryo exclaimed, as he goes up to the tree.

The black wolf just runs towards the tree branch, leaps and grabs the rope and he flew around the whole cliff and just straight landed towards the arrows and slid all the way towards the other side and ends up landing on his back. Max runs up towards him and he asked, "You all right?"

"Yep. Couldn't complain." Ryo replied.

Without warning, Kiba lets out a very excited howl/scream as he swung around the ropes and didn't even go for all ropes and instead landed down, screaming, "Look out below!"

Just then, Kiba immediately landed on Ryo's face with his butt and all the white wolf could do was laugh excitedly and said, "Wow! That was freaking awesome!"

"Yeah, great. Now can you get your butt out of my face?" asked Ryo.

"Can you get your face out of my butt?" Kiba asked, reversing the same question.

Suddenly, Kiba farted a few times on Ryo's face, causing the black wolf to groan and moan in disgust over the smell of Kiba's stink to which Kiba replied, "Yeah, feel my stink."

"Kiba! Get off me!" Ryo replied, but ends up having Kiba's butt swished around his face.

Kiba eventually gets off him while Ryo takes a gasp of fresh air and coughs a little bit and Kiba ended up saying, "Don't ya love karma?"

Just then, mostly everyone has been swinging through the ropes all the way to the other side of the cliff, including Max's brothers and as they made it without even a scratch, it even puts Tigress in shock that this plan actually worked as everyone's getting into it, even Takami.

"I gotta say...that was an awesome idea, Maxie." Takami said, giving him a fist bump.

They all noticed that Tigress is the last one standing and Max said, "Come on, Tigress! You gotta try it!"

"Why should I?" Tigress sneered.

"Because it's the only way to get across!" Max answered.

Tigress growls at him for that and lets out an angry glare directed at everyone for getting into Max's plan and she said, "I'm not taking orders from a child!"

Takami knew that this would be a challenge to convince her to try it for herself and he said, "There's really no other choice."

Tigress hates when they're right and she's wrong and it's like she's losing her pride in doing things her way and inevitably, she gave in and just climbed up the tree and she just leaped up and grabbed the ropes and swung around and as she looked down, she looked completely shocked that she was ctually doing this and when she lets go, she slid all the way up and landed towards the other side.

Tigress stood up and as she looked at them, she made the realization that she actually did it and turns out...Max's plan really worked. Samurai then sets the arrows free and cut the ropes as he gave it all back to Max and Kaizer said, "Made it without a hint of fear."

"Master Tigress...here's a little tip for you in the near future; listen to my little brother." Logan said to her face.

Everyone kept up with Max and all Tigress did was just complain about it and as she followed them, she felt completely upset that everyone's rooting for Max and throughout the day, they continued on through the parts of China.

* * *

Maxie's a genius! Stick around for more!


	14. Proud of Max

We see Kaizer bond with Max and how he commends him for being a leader at such a young age.

* * *

Chapter 14: Proud of Max

As the sun sets, everyone sets up camp for a much needed rest after going through another day of walking and as Max helps out his brothers set up their tent, Kaizer couldn't help but look at Max for some reason as he thinks about his role as a leader and how successful he is for the second day and it's like he took it with perfect ease without any hesitation or second thoughts.

"Hey, Kai. You all right?" asked Hope, right behind him.

Kaizer was startled when Hope was standing next to him and it almost gave him a heart attack as he helt his chest and he said, "Don't do that! You almost scared me."

"Sorry. I just saw you looking at Max and I thought you might've been...going soft." Hope finished.

Kazier lets out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes at that assumption and he turned to the brown bear and said to him, "I'm not going soft. Me and Max...we appreciate each other. Let's put it at that."

"All righty. If you get all fuzzy-wuzzy inside, I'll be the first to say 'I told you so'." Hope added.

Kaizer didn't really take what Hope just said seriously and just hid the fact that he's really proud of Max and as he went inside his tent, it seems as though that he really did have a brother-like connection with him and it's like both of them could relate about certain things regarding their past and things like that. And for his role as a leader on his mission, he was always surprised with Max's ideas and amazing sense of encouragement and enthusiasm and so full of energy that no other leader could have.

Not to mention, most inspirational and with every hurdle that comes across their way, Max is always one to help them go through it with flying colors with no amount of second thoughts and fear in his mind. That tells him that this kid has a mental strength unlike anything he's ever seen.

'Maybe Hope's right. Maybe I am going a little soft...but that's only for Max. It's like the kid never gets scared doing something dangerous and actually brushing it off like it's nothing. Not to mention, he keeps all of us going. I (bleep)ing hate admitting when I'm wrong.' Kaizer thought.

* * *

Later that night

Takami walks towards Max as he's getting ready for bed and he kneels down to Max's level and tells him, "That was awesome today. You've successfully did a lot better than your first day, Max."

"Thanks, Takami." Max replied.

"I gotta say, you are a genius. A fearless, take charge, never take no for an answer when someone doubts you genius. You just keep going and go to extremes." Takami replied, amazedly...not knowing that his tail's lighting on fire.

"Sometimes you gotta do things that you've never done before and of course, when you're a kid...you don't really worry about the dangers that much until you're like grown up. I've been told to my panda dad that I should just live life like it's the last day I'll ever have, so I'm willing to do just that." Max said.

"Guess it won't be long until we're almost to the tower, right?" asked Takami.

"That's right. We'll kick these guys' butts for messing with my wolf brother." Max added.

Takami chuckled softly as he completely got excited over Max's spirit and his energy and he said, "I like your spirit, man. It keeps all of us going."

"Not to mention, you're very radical for an eight year old." Kiba said, in the same energetic manner.

"Thank you. But really, it's no big deal." Max said, laughing.

Layla comes towards Max and she patted his shoulder and said, "You're one to make me smile a whole lot, Maxie...and my heart skips a beat."

"Hey..." Takami added.

Layla then giggled and looked up at Takami and replied, "I can't leave you out, Takami. You always make me a happy girl."

Ryo winks his eyes two times and he looks at Max and said, "Attracting some ladies already. You got game, kid."

Phoenix walks by and he rolls his eyes at what Ryo just said and he said, "I think it's time for someone to head to bed."

"Yeah, Phoenix is right. We've gots a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Takami agreed.

Max chuckled softly and he said 'good night' to mostly everyone and he felt like Takami is the one that really believes in him and his leadership skills and he told Takami, "Thanks for believing in me."

Takami was gently touched when he heard what Max just said to him and he comes over to him and said, "I always believe in whatever you do. Just stay true to yourself and you'll be awesome."

"Same to you." Max added.

Phoenix nods his head in agreement and will take what both tigers say to heart and he said, "Come on, let's head to bed before Sage walks out with his underwear again."

And behold...Sage did walk past them in his underwear and he looked at Max, Phoenix and Takami in the eye and said, "Didn't think I could hear that?"

He then walks back to his tent and all three of them stood there looking very disturbed by the sight of that and Takami said, "There's a picture that won't get out of my head."

"Try living with him." Max said.

* * *

A few hours later...

Max was already fast asleep in between Logan and Phoenix and when Logan started snoring, it pretty much woke Max up a little bit and he got super annoyed by the sound of his brother's snoring and he gently snuck out of the tent to get away from the sounds of Logan's snoring and just thought it was best to take a little cub wiz before he goes back to sleep. After he was finished, he heard some footsteps coming in and he wanted to know where that came from.

He quietly followed those steps and he hopes that he wouldn't get himself caught or found out if his sounds gave him away and as he looked up, he saw that it was only Kaizer just walking.

He silently continued to follow him, hoping that he didn't get a chance to know that he's followed, but Kaizer's ears were already perked up as he heard some footsteps, but already knew it was Max anyway.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep, Max?" asked Kaizer.

Max slowly popped his head out from one of the trees and he responds, "I couldn't sleep."

Kaizer sighed heavily as Max comes closer to him and he asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Logan's snoring woke me up and I was going to pee...but I heard something, so I decided to follow you." Max replied.

Kaizer then knelt down on one knee, allowing Max to get on his back and when the cub obliged to do so, he takes Max over to a little hilltop not further away from the campsite and after he sets him down, Max sat next to Kaizer and asked, "So...what were you doing in the middle of the night?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. But I guess it's for a good reason. Max, I wanna tell you something that I never told anyone...but it has be between you and me, all right?" Kaizer asked.

"You can trust me." Max said, smiling.

Kaizer took a deep breath as he looked at Max in the eye and he said, "Ever since we've been on this mission, you've been like taking a lot of risks, encouraging us to keep going and you've always been so happy all the time. And your leader skills have been really amazing. I gotta say that I admire you so much for taking up this job so young without even hesitating and it tells me that you're a strong kid."

Max chuckled softly after hearing everything Kaizer has told him and he didn't know that he made such a big impact towards Kaizer and asked, "You think so?"

"I know so. And each time Tigress made a very stupid comment, you take it as nothing. Like you don't care what she says to bring you down." Kaizer added.

"Well...my panda dad told me that sticks and stones may break my bones, but names and words could never hurt me. I've been told too many times that I'm too small and too young to even accomplish anything and I know I'm not. I know I can do anything I set my mind to. It's not to just prove them wrong so I can rub it in their faces, but to prove that little guys can stand out on their own." Max replied.

Kaizer was definitely blown away with what Max just said and it's like every word he said was nothing but straight honesty and his chance to prove that he can do anything he wants to in hopes that he'll get stronger in the end. He said, "Wow...now I believe Shifu made a right choice picking you as a leader."

"Yeah...Kaizer, do you think I'm a good leader?" asked Max, a little worried.

Kaizer places his paw on Max's shoulder and he replied, "You make an awesome leader, little guy. You fought off those stupid crocs, beat Tigress at her own game and you helped us get to the other side of the cliff by swinging around with a rope. Now if none of those makes a great leader, I don't know what is."

Max nods and then looks at Kaizer and he said, "You think so?"

"I know so, Max. You're very unique and really strong and to me, you're extraordinary...and that's what I respect about you. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm really proud of you. I know that you can accomplish this mission in flying colors." Kaizer added.

That made Max smile in every which way possible and it's great to know that someone believes in him besides Takami and it gave him the confidence he needs to be a really good leader and he said, "Thanks, Kaizer. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime, kid." Kaizer said.

Both tigers got up and made their way back to the campsite to get some more rest before the next day comes around where they will eventually head to the tower soon and with Max around, Kaizer believes in his heart that Max will accomplish this in no time.

"Also...your secret's safe with me." Max said, smiling.

Kaizer lets out a small chuckle and replied, "Thanks, little guy."

* * *

Kaizer can weigh in on this too. Stick around for more!


	15. Boosting Up

A little bonding moment between Takami and Max.

* * *

Chapter 15: Boosting Up

As sun begins to rise the following morning, Max was the only one wide awake in the whole campsite and as he got out of the tent, he noticed Takami was also sitting alone on the ground and he might've assumed that he's meditating a little bit and didn't want to interrupt, but as it turns out...

"Good morning, Max." Takami said.

Max quickly comes out and walked next to him and he said, "Good morning, Takami."

Takami looks at Max for a second and he said, "I wanna talk to you for a second."

Max didn't expect that to come out of Takami's mouth and he figured he might've been in trouble for almost walking around last night and he asked, "What did I do?"

Takami lets out a little chuckle and he rubbed his head, merely messing up half of his fur and replied, "You didn't do anything. I just wanna talk to you for a while...somewhere where Tigress won't catch us."

Max liked that idea right away and he said, "Okay, sure."

Max followed Takami to a little spot further from the campsite and as they were walking, Takami looked at Max for a second and he said, "Max, I just wanna tell you that I'm really proud of you as your role as leader. You took on the first day and second day without any hints of fear or second thoughts at all."

"Thanks, Takami." Max replied.

Soon enough, they sat down near a huge boulder and Max noticed Takami looking a little worried about something and he asked, "What's wrong?"

Takami lets out a heavy sigh and he closed his eyes for a second and Max wasn't sure if he was mad about something or if he's deeply upset and either way, it made Max seem a little uneasy, but when Takami turned around to look at him, he said to the cub, "You remind me of myself, Max...a lot."

Then, Max went from nervous to confused after what Takami had just said to him and he asked, "I do? How?"

"Well...I kinda saw a little bit of myself with you. But the difference is...I could never do anything like you've done, except for the fighting part. Of all the dangerous missions I've lead, this seems like the one mission where you always do what's best for us and you're not afraid to try something new, even if what we might do would give us complete fear. Not to mention, you never held any resentment towards Tigress over what she says to you. You always smile and become very friendly towards her, regardless." Takami explained.

Max could completely get what Takami meant by that and he replied, "As I've said, I have a 'never say never' or 'never give up' mentality and you know how you see the glass as half full? With me, I see it as all full."

Takami felt as if Max has always been happy all the time, despite all the suffering he has been through in his early years and how nothing like that even matters to him anymore and he said, "But...why? What's the secret of being happy even all the things you've been through?"

That seems like a tough question for Takami to even ask because it's opening up about his dark past a little bit, but he looked at Takami in the eye and replied, "By these four words my dad said to me, 'It only gets better'. Being around Arizona, Musaki and most of my brothers helped me realize that and I've been told by most of them that I'm gonna be somebody; no matter what obstacles I face, I'll rise above like a true warrior. Even though I'm only a kid, I have to believe in myself and follow my own destiny."

As soon as Takami heard the cub's answer, so many emotions were going through his mind ranging from surprise, amazement and inspired. It's like he really touched Takami's heart without even going on the wisdom circuit and he said, "Wow. That's all it takes?"

"Yep. We all go through some challenges, but it's up to us to overcome them." Max replied.

Takami nodded his head and definitely agreed with that type of honesty and conviction Max brought in and he said, "I also worry about you...and your safety. I made a promise to your adopted parents that I would never let anything happen to you and if something did happen...I would never forgive myself. In a way, I'm responsible for you while you're responsible for us. My heart skips a beat whenever you do these tricks and you show no fear at all...and you just go for it."

Max looked at Takami for a second and he noticed him turning away for a while, but he crept closely towards him to see some tears falling down on his face and Max said, "I didn't know you worried about me."

"I do...a lot. You're like my second little brother, Max...the closest thing I ever have besides Kovu. I just wish I could be like you." Takami said, tearfully.

"You are who you are." Max added.

Takami blinked his eyes a few times and he responded, "What do you see me as?"

"My father." Max replied.

The fact that Max sees Takami as a dad really made it very endearing for Takami and in a way, they do see each other in themselves and Takami said, "But would you really want a...a pyro freak as a father?"

"Don't call yourself that. I'd accept you anyways." Max replied, with a smile.

That one little smile made Takami smile back as well and he immediately hugged him tightly as the tears continue to fall down on his face and he said, "Thank you, Max. You're not just a good leader...but you're a great leader."

"Thank you, Takami." Max replied.

Takami responds with a soft purr and Max purred back at him and as they let go, Max said, "You're like another big brother to me...next to Kaizer."

Takami chuckled in response and he wiped his tears away and Max replied, "Stronger warriors can cry too. It shows that they have a heart."

"Right you are, little guy. Right you are." Takami agreed.

Several minutes later, both Takami and Max headed back to the campsite where mostly everyone was up and Phoenix asked, "Where have you guys been?"

"We were just talking and stuff. No big deal." Max responded.

Layla comes over and she loves the sight of Takami and Max together almost like they're family and she comes to him both tigers and kissed Takami in the cheek, provoking Ryo, Logan, K.C., Yow-Ni and Kiba to exclaim deeply towards that and K.C. spat out, "Someone's gonna start mating season sooner."

Suddenly, Layla glares at K.C. after making that stupid comment and she said, "Zip it...unless you don't want to be beaten by me again."

Max rolled his eyes at this situation and also at K.C. and said, "Just can't bite your tongue, can ya?"

"Dude, I can say whatever I wanna say because that's how I do." K.C. boasted.

"He could be my best friend right now." Ryo added.

Takami looked up at Ryo for that and he said, "Yeah, if you like to get yourself in trouble."

"Okay...since we're here, we got about a few miles of walking left until we reach the tower. If we're lucky, we might make it today." Max said, still clutching the map.

"Guess we gotta pack up and make way." Logan added.

As everyone packed up their stuff, Tigress looks up and sees everyone getting ready except for her and she quickly comes out and asked, "What's going on?"

"Oh, you're finally up. I thought we'd have to head on without you." Yow-Ni suggested.

Tigress angrily glared at the black lupine for that comment and she said, "Not in one of those moods, in case you didn't know. Trust me, you would not see my bad side."

"I thought I was already looking at it." Yow-Ni barked back.

Max quickly pounced on the two of them to break this up before it gets ugly and he said, "There's a time and a place to act like a couple of immature babies and this is not one of those times. Let's all just cool down, get ourselves ready and focus on getting to the tower. Thank you and good morning."

Yow-Ni gets himself up and dusted himself off and he turned to Tigress and said, "Man, did he tell you."

* * *

The gang continues on the journey! Wonder what will await them? Find out...


	16. Finally Made It!

Didn't think they couldn't make it? Think again!

* * *

Chapter 16: Finally Made It!

As soon as they continued on, everyone followed Max towards the forest and every single pathway leading up to the tower where Arizona and Sierra are held at and Tigress still held on to a huge amount of jealousy over Max's role as a leader and she believes that everyone respects him more than her role as leader in other missions, most of which were with the Five and Po.

"Max this and Max that...I can't stand that little brat of a cub. If I had my way, I'd strangle him and make him regret that he ever messed with me." Tigress muttered.

Takami was the first one to hear Tigress complain over Max being a leader and he turned around and said to her, "You're still angry at Max?"

"What do you think?" Tigress hissed.

It all started to get on Kaizer's nerves and he just sighed in exasperation over all of this and he said, "Tigress...can you please quit bitching about Max for five minutes?"

"I'm starting to get so fed up with Max being a leader and who does he think he is? He thinks he's smarter than any of us but he's dead wrong! I'm getting sick of it! He just puts me on my limit and I can't stand it any longer." Tigress growled.

Logan interfered with this on Max's defense and he said, "If you're gonna talk smack about my brother, don't. Only I can do that."

"Can you all please stop? You're all acting like you're making Max's role as a leader a lot harder." Layla added.

"Then, we shouldn't be in his command now, wouldn't we?" Tigress asked, in a cold tone.

Layla knew that it was a direct insult, but she wouldn't consider retaliating against her and just lets it go for his behalf and said, "All I can say is that you should be grateful."

That almost placed Tigress over the edge when Layal told her that she should be grateful for Max being a leader and all that that entails and she said, "Grateful?! Why should I be grateful to him?"

"Because we're almost at the tower." Max responded.

Takami quickly came closer to Max and asked him, "We're really almost there?"

"Yep. See those little walls over on this hill?" asked Max.

Takami then took a look at the view further away from where they're standing and everyone else took a huge gasp as they say the Great Wall from a further distance, but it's so close that they can almost taste it. Ryo gasped in shock and said, "We're getting so close, aren't we, Max?"

"Yep, we are." Max answered.

Ryo needed something to make sure that this is all real and he said, "Max...please kick me in the nuts if I'm drreaming."

Max didn't know why Ryo would make such a requets like that, but he went for it away as he kicked Ryo straight in the doggie junk and he felt that much pain coming under his unit and Ryo responded in a squeaky voice, "Yep, we made it."

Max took a deep breath and he said, "We've gotta keep moving if we're able to get Arizona and Sierra on time."

"What do you suggest we do?" asked Faith.

Then, Max looks down and sees that there was a little slide beneath this hill and he had found a way to get down from there and he said, "Just follow me...and I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why?" asked Hope.

Without an answer, Max just jumped up and slid down under the hill as fast as he could and as everyone saw what just happened, they were all surprised that the only way is to slide down and a few of them were hesitant to go for it, even Tigress refused to follow Max around...but his brothers thought otherwise as they followed Max down towards that slide.

Logan, K.C., Phoenix, Sage and Yow-Ni slid down like it was no one's business and Takami followed suit after them and soon enough, so did Hope, Faith, Kaizer, Ryo, Kiba as they slid down and Layla was about to join them and Tigress asked, "You too?"

"Well, we can't stay here. You coming or not?" asked Layla, as she slid down.

Tigress felt like she was gonna have to strangle Max for taking that route to slide down and she eventually gave up and just slid down towards the hills and soon enough, it ends right where everyone else is standing and Phoenix said, "The guy's a genius."

"Well, he can take that genius and shove it up his..." Tigress said, before she gets cut off by Takami.

"Tigress, don't." Takami said, calmly.

She was still fuming at Max, but has kept her mouth shut the entire way through and as they were all walking, they finally looked up the entire walls and from right where they're standing, they could tell that they're almost there.

Only 10 minutes later...they saw the whole wall of China right in front of them and Max whispered, "There it is...the Great Wall of China."

"I always wanted to know how big it is. It's even bigger than Kaizer's underwear." Hope said, in awe.

Kaizer slowly turns to Hope with a curious growl and asked, "Have you been 'borrowing' them again, Haruki?"

Hope chuckled nervously at this and from the look in Kaizer's eyes, he does not want to answer that question due to fear of what he's gonna do to him and he immediately turned to Max and said, "So...how do we get inside, Max?"

"We have to cross through those until we see that tower." Max answered.

"Lead on, Maxie." Layla said.

Max nodded his head and as they headed through the Great Wall, he started thinking, 'Hang on, Arizona and Sierra. I'm here.'

* * *

Thought I added in a little Kaizer/Hope funny moment! Kaizer, you can respond to that and everyone else...weigh in on this chapter! Stick around for more because it's gonna be more action-y and drama-ish!


	17. Entering Face to Face

Ever wonder how they'll eventually meet Zanki? You'll get the answer here!

* * *

Chapter 17: Entering Face to Face

Max and the rest of the clan ventured on their way inside the Wall of China and Tigress really couldn't believe that the whole trip was worth it and all it took was Max's rookie leadership skills and his amazing thirst for adventure to get them there. But she had more things to focus on like getting through this mission and Phoenix looked up at the tiger master and said, "My brother...he's one of a kind."

"Yeah, I noticed." Tigress said, in a bitter voice.

Phoenix could tell that she's still carrying a bunch of resentment even after they had made it this far and he just thought it was best to let that go than to go through anoter set of drama coming from her and on how they'll have to find the tower. But as it turns out...the whole Great Wall is completely bigger than anyone imagined.

"How are we gonna cross these stairs?" asked Kiba.

"We all have to walk each and every step of the Great Wall until we find this tower that's in the center of it." Tigress added.

That took Max by surprise that she knows a lot more about the Great Wall of China and he got astonished and asked, "How many times have you been here?"

"As close as I can recall." Tigress replied.

Tigress walked towards Max's side and everyone followed both of them as they headed onto the towers and within several minutes of walking, they were getting closer to the tower and Max looks up and sees this ominous and creepy looking tower that's like something you'd see out of a scary movie and Logan said, "Man, this is scary."

"Looks like this might be the place." Max added.

All of a sudden, they saw a bunch of armed guards around the front of the tower and everyone hid behind one of those mazes and needed to come up with a plan to distract them as they sneak in the tower and Max said, "These guys look a lot bigger. Even bigger than my dad."

"Only dad doesn't wear armor and stuff." Logan said.

"How about we just fight them and knock them out?" asked Tigress.

Max knew it would a risky move to even accomplish doing and he said, "Why not just have them draw up a death bed after that? You can't just go walking by and fight them off because they'll know something's up."

"I'm with Max on this one." Hope quickly said.

Tigress glared at Hope for that immediate comment and that made the brown bear a little scared and he said, "I'm just saying."

"Well, I could thrash them from behind and give them an ultra bodyslam." Sage added.

Max scoffed at this and said, "Yeah, and they'll like squish you down to the ground in pieces."

"Got any bright ideas?" asked Sage, growling.

Max started thinking up something to distract those guards and all of a sudden, he begins thinking up of one and he lets out a mischevious smirk and replied, "Yeah...I do."

The guards were still standing over the tower doors and soon enough, one of them heard something from a distance and he was ready to attack if some intruders were coming in and all of a sudden...in comes a walking crate coming in right in front of them and one of guard asked, "What is that?"

"I have no idea...but I'm gonna find out." the other guard said.

He flips the crate over and inside of there is a little package directed towards them and out comes Max with his claws coming out and claws both guards in the face and kicks them in the groin so hard that they were definitely unconscious and knocked out. Once Max checked on them, he knew that they were as good as out cold. He looks up at the rest of the gang and gave them a thumbs-up as a code for 'all clear'.

They all went inside the tower and with one simple look, it has the definitions of what's creepy, scary and downright horrible among other things. K.C. groans at this place and said, "Sppok-ville."

"Almost makes you wanna live here, huh?" Yow-Ni asked.

Max shushed them and lead them throughout parts of the tower to find both Arizona and Sierra and they kept themselves in a low profile not to be caught by anyone. Max then keeps a lookout for any guard that comes their path and all of a sudden, they overheard the plot that revolves around Arizona and Sierra.

"...now we all agree that these two wolf prisoners that Zanki's holding them hostage will die tonight. So we'll shove them down to a molten lava to their deaths and all that's gonna be left is their ashes."

Hearing this made Max very angry that someone would do something to kill his wolf brother and it even upset Ryo the most because Arizona's like his Omega brother/best friend and wanted to just run off and fight them off, but Phoenix didn't want him to do so because they'll all be in trouble and Max didn't even need to hear everything they just said.

"But what if someone comes to rescue them?"

"We'll give them a death sentence of their own...a very quick death."

Max lets out a few shaky breaths and he turns to the others and whispered, "Wherever they got Arizona and Sierra, we gotta get them out of here now!"

Everyone agreed with this and they were all gonna find each and every cell they could be locked in anywhere and just as they were about to...they found themselves caught by a few guards.

"Hey!"

Phoenix looks up and sees some of the guards coming towards them and he said, "Aw, man!"

"Gather them up! Run as fast as you can!" Max shouted.

Those guards came in after them and everyone scrambled out of the way to get them away from their hands and most of them fought them off harder and when one tries to nab Layla, she immediately kicked them in the nuts and bashed them on the head hard and Takami unleashed his fire power directly at them and knocked them out.

Kaizer, Sage, K.C. and Yow-Ni went in and beat all of the guards up and Sage used his chokehold on one of them as K.C. and Yow-Ni bit them on the tails while Kaizer literally beats them up to a bloody pulp.

Hope, Ryo, Kiba and Faith wrestled with each of the guards and Faith clawed one guard in the face as Ryo punched them down, Hope slammed them on the floor multiple times and Kiba used his blue fire power to aim at them the best way possible and all four of them kicked them down and beats them up hard.

Logan and Phoenix comes udner attack as the guards plan to beat them down, but Max comes in and beats down all of them quickly with his quick-moves and claws to boot. One even wanted to beat Max up, but he dodged and blocked every punch he pulls out and slammed them all down for their behalf.

"Good work, Max!" Logan shouted.

Just then, Tigress was fighting off two guards as they each came to knock her down, but she was quick to take them down quickly and they couldn't give up and as Max comes in the way, she blocked him out of the way for helping her and he quickly went over to take down the other guards for his friends' safety and not long after, every guard was knocked out cold.

"Thanks, Max!" Hope added.

"No probs! Now let's go find Arizona and Sierra!" Max exclaimed.

Soon enough, another bonus set of guards surrounded them with many weapons and all of them were completely confused as to how many guards they got and to add it all...in comes Zanki, slowly walking by and facing all of them with this vicious smirk on his face.

"Well...I didn't think I could find any intruders or trespassers around here." Zanki growled.

Tigress then looked at Zanki in the eye and replied, "And you look ugly as a half dog and half cat."

Zanki looked down and saw Max looking absoultely livid and he started laughing at the fact that there's a cub coming in the middle of this fight and said, "And just what is a mere child doing here in a dangerous place like this?"

Max growled at Zanki and told him, "You have someone that belongs to me...and I want them now!"

"And just what are you talking about, little boy?" Zanki said, in a mocking tone.

"I AM NOT LITTLE! Where's my wolf brother?!" Max shouted.

Zanki then noticed that one prisoner is actually his brother and he finds it impossible that a wolf and a tiger could actually be brothers and said, "How could that prisoner possibly be your big brother? Multi-species don't go together."

"Then I guess I'm confused on which one are you." Max spat out.

Zanki growled at him for that comment Max just made and then, the cub said to him, "I'm not gonna ask you again...where is my wolf brother?!"

"Just answer the question!" Phoenix shouted.

Zanki chuckled maliciously and replied, "I'm not taking orders from a child. And you will never see your brother again."

Max immediately leaped up and beat him down on the face and scratched him down and as the guards try to contain him, Max struggled to break himself free and as the others come to help, they were also pummeled by down by the guards.

"Take the intruders to an empty cell!" Zanki shouted.

One-by-one, they were being taken and dragged to another part of the cell and Max screamed at Zanki, "You can't do this to us! You have no right!"

Max continued on protesting against them and Zanki, but the wolf/tiger hybrid ignored that comment as he walks away and he scoffed at Max, saying, "Kids suck."

* * *

Man, dramatic or what? On the next chapter, it takes an explosive turn when a jealous tiger takes her fury on the little leader cub! Stick around!


	18. Defending Max

Here's where Tigress' jealousy takes a big explosion!

* * *

Chapter 18: Defending Max

Minutes have passed by as the gang were locked up in a cell and that they couldn't believe that they were so close to getting Arizona and Sierra that they ended up being caught and locked up and it's just completely unfair to everyone else...Max included.

"Let us out of here! Let us out of here! We can't take it anymore! I'm seriously gonna freaking suffocate here!" K.C. shouted, banging on the doors.

Phoenix got a little irritated by K.C.'s over-dramatic screams and he said, "Will ya stop it? We've only been here 12 minutes ago."

"Well, it feels like a lifetime now." K.C. replied back.

K.C. eventually sat back down along with the rest of them and Max really wanted to save Arizona and Sierra so bad that he couldn't stand the thought of being locked up and feeling helpless and their lives are completely at stake and Takami looks up at Max and asked, "You all right?"

"No. I'm realy scared for my wolf brother." Max replied.

Takami could tell that this is hitting hard on Max and he said, "Listen...we all need to get out of here and we know you're the one cub that can help us out."

Takami was right about that though and Max takes a deep breath and he said, "We've gotta find a way to escape this disgusting cell. I know! I think I might reach in the keyhole and unlock it with my claw."

"Think it could work?" asked Layla.

"It has to. There's really no other options." Max answered.

Just then, Tigress completely reached her boiling point and just straight up screamed, "SHUT UP!"

Tigress' angry scream definitely woke everyone up and many of them were either frightened, awake or possibly shocked by this and Max didn't really want to shut himself up and he said, "What's wrong now?"

"You! This is all your fault!" Tigress shouted.

Max sighed heavily at this and he replied, "Don't I know that it's my fault for clawing that ugly guy and got you guys in here?"

"Oh, clawing Zanki's the least of my problem." Tigress bitterly growled.

Now Max was getting really confused with what Tigress meant by it's all his fault and asked, "Then why blame me?"

"For being a leader! Ever since you got into this leading business, all you ever did was make everyone listen to you and follow your ways instead of just worrying about what the danger levels it'll take us through! And you've...you've reached my limit. You really did. I knew that Shifu made a stupid decision for having you as a leader in the first place because you're just a child! You know nothing about leading us at all! You think you can do all these things, but you can't! You can't and you never will! And honestly, I don't think you're a good enough leader! You're the most disgusting, disrespectful. vile tiger in the face of China and ever since you came into our lives, you've been nothing but trouble in the first place!" Tigress shouted.

Max got a little disturbed by how she was able to spit all those false things about him and he asked, "How did I even...?"

"SHUT UP! Don't speak while I'm talking and you listen good, you little no-good brat! Everyone else has always been looking up to you and you've had the audacity to steal everything I had away from me! Who do you think you are anyway?! You're just a stupid child with stupid brothers who cater to your every whim and make us grown ups look pathetic...just like you are!" Tigress continued.

Phoenix immediately stood up and looked very offended by the fact that Tigress called him 'stupid' and said, "That's just rude and uncalled for!"

"SIT DOWN!" Tigress screamed.

"I'm not sitting down...no matter what you say! Max has done nothing but be a good leader to us and all you ever did is just focus on you, you, you!" Phoenix shouted.

Tigress wasn't gonna deal with Phoenix and just continued to unload and unleash eevry single cruel thing to Max and she said, "I have never met anyone so stupid, disgsuting and most idiotic that it should even reach a size limit! I should've been the leader of this mission because I'd pick me over your pathetic face any day! But no...all you cared about was rescuing Arizona and Sierra and you brought us in there so we can plummet to our deaths! Not only that, you made my student turn against me and everyone else to! I just wish that you could see what it feels like to have something so important that you wanted taken away from you and I don't care if you're eight years old, seven or even a child! And I really don't give a damn if you're a special kid because you're just a rotten, no-good, unaccountable brat who will never amount to anythign! You're nothing! That's all you are! A big bag full of nothing! You should just die right now if it'll make all of us happy! You can't do anything right and I have no regrets beating you up while we were training because you deserved it!"

All of those words completely stung Max like a big bee...emotionally though because he had never seen Tigress that mad before...madder than what he usually witnesses. But Max is one to let it roll off his back and he said, "Your words...they have no effect on me."

That made her snap to the point where she has to fight him and she screamed, "That's it! I've had enough of you!"

She immediately gave Max a punch on the face and wanted to claw him, but she was stopped when Takami tackled her down hard and pinned her to the wall and Tigress was definitely shocked that Takami would do this to her...as a way of defending Max and said, "What is wrong with you? Why would you say these things to him?!"

"Because it's the truth!" Tigress shouted.

Layla could see Max was somewhatr hurt by those words Tigress spat out and she growled at her for that and she said, "You take everything you said about Max back."

"Sure! Take his side!" Tigress snarled.

Most of the Hazards were coming towards Max, even Kaizer came in to his defense...which bubbled up Tigress' fury and asked, "Are you all serious? You'd defend him?!"

"Look, Max is special and if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even be in the freaking Great Wall right now!" Ryo growled.

"Yeah, that's just unforgivable what you just said." Kiba agreed.

Faith was definitely the one that's most heated over what Tigress said about him and she told him, "You really should be lucky that Max lead us to where we are. You wouldn't even make it out alive if it wasn't for him!"

Tigress got really mad at Max and it's like her temper couldn't be anymore heated and said, "See what you just did? Just once...I wish I can beat you up so bad that you wouldn't even live to see another day!"

That sent Kaizer over to the edge and he got in her face and said, "Damn, Tigress...what the heck is wrong with you?! What the hell did Max did to you anyway?! Why don't you just eat a big bowl of shut the (bleep) up?!"

"He knows very well what he did!" Tigress pointed out.

"Well, at least he wasn't complaining like you did! All he's ever done is be a good leader and prove that little kids can do big things and all you've done is bitch about how you could've been a leader for this mission!" Takami growled.

As the rest of them were arguing about this, Max could tell that this is just too much for him to even witness and he lowered his head down...but he spots something interesting under the floor. He sees a little squared door underneath the cell and when he opened it...he saw some steps and wanted to know where it leads to.

Kaizer slowly rose his head up as he noticed Max heading inside and he whispered, "What are you doing?"

Max placed his finger on his mouth to tell him that he shouldn't tell anyone about where he's going and he slowly closed the underground door down as he walked down the steps and he grabs one of those torches to find out where this leads to. He was a little scared on the outside...but he knows that he would do things for his wolf brother if he was ever in trouble.

Less than a few minutes in and he sees a slide underneath it and he wasn't sure where it'll lead to...but his instincts tell him to carry on regardless and he sat down and started sliding all the way down and soon enough, it reaches the front of the tower and he clings onto the end part for dear life and he gets himself up and goes on top of the slide and tries to find a perfect aim to land onto the ceilings.

He grabs some rope, twirls it around and throws it towards the base and he swings it across until he reaches the window that lead him back to the inside of the tower. He takes a deep sigh of relief and said, "Still got it."

* * *

Back at the cell

Tigress and Takami continued bickering about Max and it was definitely getting on Kaizer's nerves so much that he was gonna go all Ex-Assassin on both of them and he stood up and got in the middle of them and said, "Why don't you two shut the hell up already?! You guys are pitting Max in the middle of this and honestly, I've had it up to here!"

"Uh...Kaizer, where is Max?" asked Hope.

Suddenly, everyone looks around and they saw that Max has already been gone without anyone finding out and Sage said, "How did he get out of there?"

"I don't know." Yow-Ni answered.

Faith then said, "He couldn't just escape on his own somewhere."

"Who knows what could happen to the little guy?" Phoenix said, a little worried.

Tigress could care less about where Max is and she said, in a cruel and cold tone, "Good riddance to that punk."

"Let me at her! Let me at her! I'll kick her mother(bleeping) ass to the next dynasty!" Sage said, trying to fight her, but got held by the others.

"Let him fight me!" Tigress growled, putting her claws in.

Phoenix immediately ended this here and now and he took an angry glance at Tigress and said, "If you were half a good leader as Max is..."

Tigress quickly snapped and punched Phoenix down hard, screaming, "I am 10,000 times better than Max or anyone else is!"

Takami immediately stopped this and he angrily said, "That's enough, Tigress. The bottom line is Max is out there and someone has to find him."

Kaizer lets out a deep sigh as he agreed with what Takami just said and he knew that he wouldn't live with himself if anything happened to Max and he said, "You guys stay here. I'll go find him."

Tigress grew amazingly shocked that Kaizer would go out and look for him and she said, "Why would you? Do you actually care for him?"

Kaizer would be the one that could never swallow his pride, but after Tigress questioning the benefit of what's best for Max, he turned around and replied, "You know what? Yes, I do. This is a little cub we're talking about here. And he has been a great leader to all of us! How could you possibly have so much resentment towards him when all he did was lead us to the tower. If I know him, he's probably out trying to find Arizona and Sierra on his own and if it means escaping the drama you created, I'd probably do the same thing too."

Kaizer unlocked the door with the use of his claw and when he opened the door, he said, "I'll be back. I'll find him. I made a promise to him that I'd protect him with my life as the Avenger of Peace...and that's what I'm gonna do."

He got out of there and closed the door and he whispered to himself, "Don't worry, little guy. I'm coming for ya."

* * *

Sorry if I made her too explosive. Next up, Max is on a mission of his own and don't worry...he'd never leave anyone behind. He'll come back for them. Hazards, express your comments on this! You guys can imagine a song to fit this chapter.


	19. Freeing the Imprisoned Wolves

This is a little something that came to mind on MLK Day 2013 and I figured this is a good idea to use it because knowing Max, he's not too small to accomplish anything.

* * *

Chapter 19: Freeing the Imprisoned Wolves

Max crept all around this dark tower looking for Arizona and Sierra and he's keeping an eye out to see if anyone's following him and his tiger instincts were on point in case something goes up, like if someone catches him, he'd be one to trick them. He pulls out his black japanese ninja headband and places it on his head in case he's ready for a fight.

He then begins to think about all the things Tigress told him about being the wrong choice for a leader because he's a child and all of those insults that came with it and all of those really stung him hard, but he's not surprised that someone fully doubts his capabilities to do big things when he's so small and he knows that he has to prove himself and everyone else wrong that he can not only lead a mission, but to stand on his own and make a difference.

Suddenly, he hears some of the guards talking about plotting to kill Arizona and Sierra and burn them in molten lava and he knows that he would not let that happen to his wolf brother and then he sees one of them popping out of a cell with a group full of imprisoned young wolves and it surprised him that he remembers Arizona talking about rescuing those wolves in that same tower before he was being locked up and he figured that he might need all the help he can get.

After he kept an eye on this guard for leaving and when the coast was clear, he immediately made a run for that cell and tried to open the door, but it was locked already. He started thinking right off the spot, but of course...the one solution is to unlock it with his claws. So, he jumped up until he grabs the door and with his free paw, he unsheaths his one claw and unlocks the door and suddenly, he successfully opens the door, which made the imprisoned wolves look up to see who it was.

As Max got back down to the floor, he walks into the cell and sees every wolf staring at him, confusedly and surprised that he came in this room and he asked, "Do I have the right cell?"

One young wolf; age 19, stands at 5'9, weighing at 198 pounds, with dark tanned fur, crimson red eyes and wearing some ripped shorts looks up and he angrily growled at Max, assuming that he's out to kill him and asked, "Friend or foe?"

"Friend." Max responded.

Another wolf came out; age 21, stands at approximately 6'2, weighing at 200 pounds with dark black fur, deep brown eyes and only wears some tattered grey sweatpants with tattoos on his arms looks up and he was surprised that a kid came into the room and he said, "You do realize that you shouldn't have come here all alone, right?"

"There's a million things that I shouldn't be doing and this is not one of them." Max responded.

"Kid...how did you know we were here?" asked another wolf, also male; white fur, weighing at 215 pounds, standing at 6'2, age 20, deep blue eyes and is wearing a golden ripped vest and black sweatpants.

"One of those guards that just came out. I'm here to get you guys out of here." Max added.

All of them stood there looking at Max and they just couldn't believe what they just heard and they immediately burst out laughing at him in disbelief, assuming that he's joking. Max rolled his eyes at that and replied, "I'm serious!"

"Yeah, right!"

"How can a little guy like you set us free?"

Max crossed his arms at this after hearing those wolves doubt him because he's small, but he doesn't appear to be affected by it and replied, "I can because I can. Trust me on this one."

Another wolf scoffed at Max for what he just said and he said, "Look...it's no use. We're never gonna get out of here and not even you can set us free."

"Yeah, we don't stand a chance against fighting Zanki. He's like...all powerful and he'd kill us if we were loose." another male wolf said.

Max is always one to never say give up and he refused to back down and he immediately unsheathed his claw and puts it inside the locks and within a quick second, he begins to unlock this one door and when one of them heard a click sound, one witnessed Max opening up the cell and they stood there, jaw dropped and speechless that Max really did this.

"You were saying?" asked Max.

One walked up to him and even stammered in awe and asked, "How...how did you..."

Max showed them his claw that did the trick and soon enough, he quickly unlocked every cell door the other wolves were held at and as soon as those doors were opened, every wolf stepped out of there with surprise and shock all over themselves that someone that young, that small could actually free them and the cub said, "Do you believe me now?"

"Okay, you convinced us. Now what do we do?" asked the tanned wolf.

"We do two things; we rescue my wolf brother and his girlfriend and we fight that ugly Zanki guy." Max answered.

Most of the wolves were pretty skeptic about the latter part because they wouldn't risk death if they fought Zanki and the tanned wolf said, "Fight Zanki? That sounds like a big risk."

"We can't even fight off the guards because they're tough and they have weapons that could kill us easily." another wolf added.

"They killed our families and took our home from us. It's impossible to even accomplish this." one blue and white wolf replied.

Max looks at all of them and he couldn't even believe that they're not even gonna fight back and he knew that he was gonna have to talk some sense into them and he looked at all of them and said, "Never say it's impossible. We can make this happen if we all work together. Look, you guys can fight them and you have to believe that you can do this. I've been where you are before; people telling you 'you can't do this' or 'you can't do that' because of the size or age. And you always feel like they're pulling you away from even making the impossible possible. Your families wouldn't want you to live in fear, wouldn't you?"

Most of the wolves thought about those words and they realized that all they've been doing is living in suffering and living in fear of Zanki for all this time and most of them definitely did get sick of sitting in the cell and doing nothing rather than standing up and doing something to fight back Zanki and they do agree that Max has a valid point there and one replied, "No...they would want us to fight for them."

"Exactly! Now...my wolf brother and his girlfriend were sent to rescue you guys and they ended up getting locked up and their lives are in danger. And we need to set them free so we can all fight them together. You might say it's a lot for one little guy, but it's not possible. I believe in you guys and I know you can believe in yourselves if we can make this happen. We're gonna kick Zanki's butt and and get you guys out of here...together. So what do you say? Are you guys with me?" Max continued.

They definitely took Max's words well and never knew that a young cub can give them the strength they need to get Zanki back and they replied, "Yeah!"

"I said, are you guys with me?!" Max shouted.

The rest of the wolves cheered and Max knew that he gave them a voice and the strength to fight and he said, "Let's kick some major evil butt!"

All of them followed Max as they left the prison cells and decided to run out and get every guard that was gonna stop them, but they also know that they're gonna give Zanki a rude awakening as they fight him.

* * *

Now...the next chapter is where Max sets Arizona and Sierra free! Isn't this gonna be awesome?! Hazards, what do ya think?! Just imagine a random song in your head while reading this chapter.


	20. Freeing Arizona and Sierra

Now comes the time that Max rescues Arizona and Sierra!

* * *

Chapter 20: Rescuing Arizona and Sierra

As Max and the other wolves walked around the side of the tower, keeping an eye on the guards and they overheard them talking about sending Arizona and Sierra over to the molten lava as soon as possible and Max knew that he would stop them at all costs to save them and he whispered to them, "We should follow where they're taking my brother, but keep your mouths shut."

"Max!"

Suddenly, Max turns around and to his shock, he sees Kaizer coming in and one of the wolves asked, "How do you know this guy?"

"What, is he your brother or something?" asked another wolf.

When Kaizer caught up with Max, he saw all the other wolves surrounding him and he thought that they were out to get Max and he looked at them in a dangerous growl and asked, "Who are you?"

"Funny you should ask. Who are you? And if you're thinking about killing Max, you'll have to get through us first." one wolf said, with a growl.

Kaizer unsheathed his claws, ready to attack them and he said, "And if you do...you wouldn't want to mess with me."

Max then instantly got in the middle of this and stopped the fight before it gets freaking ugly and he said, "Kaizer...it's okay. They're with me."

Both sides eventually chilled out after Max clears this up and Max looks at the other wolves and said, "Guys...this is Kaizer. Kaizer, these are the imprisoned wolves Arizona was gonna rescue."

Kaizer clears his throat and he pulls his claws back in and replied, "My apologies."

"This little guy like got us out of those prison cells. At first, we didn't believe it because he's so small, but he proved us wrong and he did got us out...with his claws. So, we might be in for a fight with Zanki." one wolf added.

That made Kaizer seem really surprised that Max did that all by himself and he looked at the cub and asked, "You really did that?"

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" asked Max.

Kaizer clears his throat and replied, "After you snuck out during a fight between Tigress and Takami...I fugured I might as well follow you to...keep an eye on you."

Just then, Max knew another reason why Kaizer came for Max and he folded his arms and said, "So I wouldn't get myself hurt, huh?"

"Well...I'd say more like...just watching out for you." Kaizer replied, trying to bury what he really meant to say.

"You care about me, don't you?" asked Max, smirking.

"I...what are you talking about? Max, I only came here so you wouldn't kill yourself." Kaizer answered.

Most of the other wolves figured he might be lying for the weird reasons and one of them said, "You do care for the little guy. You tigers must have a nurturing side that we don't know about."

Kaizer glares at one of them and said, "Who told you to speak on my behalf?"

"Kaizer...why did you really come?" asked Max.

"Yeah, anything you say to this guy, you say in front of us." the tanned wolf added.

Kaizer took a deep sigh and knew that this was gonna be really complicated to keep this to himself and he said, "All right! I care about you, okay?! After Tigress' insulting outburst at you and you sneaking out of our cell, I wouldn't forgive myself if anything were to happen to you. And if you want to rescue Arizona and Sierra, you're gonna need someone to keep you from the hands of the guards."

Max smiled at this and he immediately hugged Kaizer's waist, to which the teenaged white tiger reacted while he froze and he said, "You're hugging me in front of those wolves."

"Eh, let them look." Max replied.

Just then, Kaizer heard some voices right behind them and he turns around and sees a few guards in the distance heading their way and he looked at Max and said, "Go rescue Arizona and Sierra right now."

Max released him from the hug and he asked, "Okay. What's wrong?"

"How'd you get out of there?!"

They then notice the guards coming in and Kaizer replied, "Go now! I'll deal with these guards!"

"But what about you?!" Max asked.

"Don't worry about me. I'll handle them myself. You set Arizona and Sierra free!" Kaizer exclaimed.

Max nodded his head and lead the other wolves to free Arizona and Sierra while Kaizer comes face to face with the other guards and pulls out his sword and as the guards stopped, they were completely familiar with those scars on his face and he said, "Is that who the hell I think it is?"

"It's the Demon of Death! We finally got him at last!" another guard replied.

"Was the Demon of Death...but I'm still gonna kick your (bleep)ing ass as Avenger of Peace." Kaizer growled, holding his sword.

"We'll see about that!"

Kaizer then takes a deep breath and said, "Been a long time since I've used this sword. Don't fail me now."

The guards came towards Kaizer to fight him, but he punches the crap out of these guys and raises his sword to slay them up big time and slayed every guard like never before.

Meanwhile...

Max and the other wolves got to where one of the guards are holding Arizona and Sierra hostage and Max is pretty eager to play some tricks with this guard and he slowly crept up to him under his legs and clawed his knee and after that, he quickly hid, leaving the guard looking at the other guard and said, "Did you just claw me?"

"What? No, I didn't claw you." the other guard replied.

"Then how did I get clawed in the leg?" the guard asked.

"How the heck should I know?"

Then, Max snuck around the other guard and clawed him in the foot and quickly hid and then the other guard turned to him and said, "What's with ya?"

"What are you talking about?!" the guard asked.

"You just clawed my foot!"

"How did I claw your foot? I'm standing right here!"

Then, the guard pushed him down and both wolf guards started fighting each other and they tumbled onto the ground, basically pummeling them down to no end and they ended up fighting down the steps and Max looks down and sees them fighting together and that's enough to make sure the coast is clear and he unlocks the door with his claws and as soon as the door clicks, he quickly opens the door and to his surprise...he sees both Arizona and Sierra shackled in the walls.

"Zona?" Max whispered.

Just then, Sierra's ears perked up and turned around to see Max standing there and in shock, she immediately elbows Arizona and soon enough, Arizona turns around and is amazingly shocked to see Max there and he whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm saving you guys." Max whispered.

Arizona couldn't believe that Max is actually here to rescue them and he immediately unlocks the shackles off of them and when they were set free, Sierra couldn't be more happier to see Max and she picked him up and gave him a huge hug and Arizona igot himself up and hugged him as well. Arizona couldn't be any more happier than to see Max and he said, "I'm so lost into words except I thought I would never see you again."

"I felt the same way." Max replied.

All three got out of there, leaving Max thrilled to be reunited and both wolves got a dose of shock that all those imprisoned wolves were out of the cell and Arizona said, "Hey...how'd you guys get out?"

"Ask the little guy." the white wolf asked.

Both Arizona and Sierra turned to Max and they were even more surprised that he was the one person to set them free and Sierra asked, "You did that?"

"Mm-hmm." Max replied.

Arizona knelt down to his level and was a mixture of shock and amazement that Max actually did this and he said, "Max...you're growing up so fast, I can barely tell."

"Sometimes you have to do the right thing, no matter how small or young you are, right?" Max asked.

Arizona smiled at this and he replied, "Right. Now we all need to get out of here."

Just then, Kaizer comes back in and he said, "Hey, we need to get Tigress and the others out of there before those guards and that Zanki guy comes at us!"

"That's right! We need to get moving!" Max exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's not waste any time here." Sierra agreed.

* * *

Expect some big action and Max's reason why he's become a leader on the next chapter! Hazards, weigh in please! What song are you imagining to fit in this chapter?


	21. The Best Leader

And here's where things get super awesome!

* * *

Chapter 21: The Best Leader

Max, Arizona, Sierra, Kaizer and the rest of the wolves immediately ran towards the tower to get Tigress and the others out of the cell, only to find themselves face to face with Zanki and he growled angrily at all of them and he looks up at Arizona and Sierra and asked, "How the hell did you even get out of there?!"

"One, watch your mouth! And secondly...this little guy did." Arizona replied, angrily.

Zanki looks down and he sees Max standing there and all the white cub did was let out a little taunting wave directed at Zanki and he said, "Ridiculous. He's...small. How could he possibly set you free?"

"Because I'm smarter than you." Max replied, smirking and revealing his claw.

Zanki definitely wanted to attack Max right here and there and bellowed out, "Guards! Guards!"

Kaizer lets out a devious smirk as to what he did to every guard and how they're not responding so quickly and that set the wolf-tiger hybrid off quickly and said, "Where the hell are my guards?!"

Then, Kaizer clears his throat and raised his paw for that answer and he said, "Yeah, that part was my fault. It seems as though they're lying down on the job...forever."

That also set Zanki off after Kaizer received that message to hear that he actually killed up to 10 to 12 of his guards and he said to him, "You will live to regret that."

"Oh...and I'm not even done with them yet." Kaizer added.

Zanki growls at this and lets out a ferocious roar/bellow so loud that you could hear the walls burst down the ground and he grew multi-pissed off and he said, "My back-up guards! Get them!"

All of a sudden, there are plenty other back-up guards coming by to fight them all and Arizona was the first one to punch most of them out, as well as Sierra and several of the other wolves that fought back for the first time...which both shocked and pretty much angered Zanki to a fullest extent that they're actually fighting and he knew that they were gonna pay the consequences for being loose and he wanted to start off with Max and just as he was gonna tear the cub apart, he got tripped over and fell down on the ground hard and found himself wrapped up in rope around his entire body.

"What the...?! Untie me this instant!" Zanki growled.

Max looked at Zanki and all he did was let out a raspberry at his face and the hybrid was struggling to break himself free and he said, "Whe I get my hands on you, I'm gonna..."

"You're gonna what?" Max asked.

Kaizer began beating the crap out of those guards and he punched them out in the quickest way possible and without warning, he slayed them to death with his sword and Arizona went and kicked Zanki in the stomach and said, "That's for Sierra!"

Just then, Max clawed each guard in the face and shin and most of them fought him back, but he gets himself back up and keeps on fighting and just then...Arizona stood by his side and he told him, "Thought you were gonna start without me?"

Max smiled at this and so did Arizona that two brothers are fighting side by side with each other and when a set of guards came after both of them, they ran in rapid speed and both of them punched, kicked and swung them down as hard as they could and Arizona definitely grabbed each guard by the wrist and slammed them down to the floor from up, down and all around and Max came in and kicked them in the groin if they fell on the floor and clawed him in the shin if needed.

Both brothers went in and fist pumped each other after that and just then, Arizona got knocked out by one guard and that did not sit well with Max and he went in and got on his back, clawing him to no end and the guard threw Max down on the ground and got his sword out, ready to stab him, but...the guard ends up getting stabbed and sliced from behind and as the guard fell down, Max sees Kaizer standing there and he said, "Lucky I came when I did."

"Thanks, Kai." Max said, happily.

Arizona gets himself up and rubs his arm and he looks at Kaizer and said, "Thanks, man...for saving my brother. I knew you'd care for him."

Kaizer lets out a sigh and he replied, "It's a tiger thing."

The rest of the other wolves beat the beat out of the other guards all together as a team and with the assistance of Sierra and Arizona, they knocked them out as faster than ever and both Arizona and Max knocked out Zanki cold with the use of their fists.

Whereas the rest of the guards, Kaizer pulls out his sword and fought everyone off and sliced and cut them off one-by-one while the others run out of the tower and after Kaizer was done with them, he runs off to catch up with Max and the others.

They were all unaware that Zanki opened his eyes and clawed all the pieces of rope off to set himself free and as he stood up...he saw all of his guards stabbed and bludgeoned, laying lifeless on the ground with blood splattered everywhere and he was on a full-on rampage for revenge and he said, "I'll burn your entire body to (bleep)ing pieces, you little brat!"

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone was heading downstairs to find where Tigress and the rest of the crew are held at and Max knew a shortcut around there and said, "I'll meet you guys at the cell."

In no time, Max ran out of the tower and headed outside to where he came from and as he got to the walls, he got back to the crawling where he came out of and attempted to get himself back up there and within a period of 3 minutes, he got himself back up to the cell as he opened up the little trap door and crawled back inside there and sure enough...everyone was astonished that Max is back.

Phoenix looks up and he immediately went up to him and he hugged him tightly and he said, "Where have you been?!"

"None of that matters now. We all need to get out of here right now!" Max exclaimed.

Max was set to unlock the doors to get out, but Tigress stood in his way, still furious over his role as a leader and for everyone instilling their trust on him and Max said, "Tigress, move."

"I dare you to make me move! Unless you're not leader enough..." Tigress said, with a hidden growl, ready to strike.

"We don't have time for this! Zanki might come at any minute right now and there's no telling what he's gonna do to all of us!" Max said.

"You don't time to fight me?! How dare you reject my offer! You must be more pathetic than I thought! You're the worst leader ever made and a child like you...you'll regret the day you made the others turn against me!" Tigress angrily spat out.

Takami is getting fed up with this and he knows that Max is defintiely serious about this and he said, "Tigress...move out of the way! If Max says that Zanki's gonna come at us, then we need to act now and leave ASAP!"

"Then let him kill Max! It wouldn't concern me if he died being a pathetic amateur of a brat!" Tigress spat out.

Max was definitely getting fed up with this and he shoved Tigress down the floor and he said, "You shut up and listen! If you wanna stand here and blab about me sucking as a leader, then I guess you wouldn't live to do kung-fu another day! But at least I've did what I'm supposed to do and guess what?! I'm following my destiny and I'm doing the best job I can!"

Tigress growled at him for that comment and Max continued on saying, "All I've done is be the best leader I know I could be and all you did is treat me like I'm nothing and that I'm useless because I'm too small and too young to do anything! And I'm getting sick of that and for once...it wouldn't kill you to accept it because I'm taking it very seriously and you take it as a joke! Maybe that's all I am to you...a joke, but really, you're the joke! I set Arizona and Sierra free and they might be on the way here right now so we can all get out of here and fight Zanki!"

"When will you get it through your (bleep)ing head?! You failed this mission! Arizona and Sierra are dead! And you're stupid to think you'd still instill hope in that (bleep)ing fat head of yours! If I was a leader, I'd drop you as a first duty and watch you die!" Tigress exclaimed.

Takami stood up and screamed, "YOU SHUT THE HELL UP! He's done a good job!"

"Yeah, and he's a way better leader than you'll ever be!"

Suddenly, the door unlocks and when the door opens, it's Kaizer and he looked extremely pissed at Tigress after hearing everything she said to Max and he said, "You'll eat those words though."

"Kaizer!" Takami called out.

The rest of the gang stood up and then, Max told them to head out at once and when they did, they were extremely surprised and stunned that both Arizona and Sierra are free and Phoenix, Logan, Sage, Ryo and the others came towards Arizona and Sierra and they couldn't believe that they're actually free and Ryo asked, "You all right?"

"Yep. Never been better." Arizona said, with a chuckle.

"How'd you get out?" asked Logan.

Sierra chuckled slightly and she pointed her head to the side to Max and when they turned around, Max responded with a little wave and the rest of them were shocked that Max actually did this and Hope said, "No way. You did this?"

"Uh-huh." Max replied.

And suddenly, they saw the other wolves standing there and all their eyes were widened the minute they saw them free and Tigress walked up to them and asked, "You're those imprisoned wolves, aren't you?"

"Yep, that's up." the tanned wolf replied.

"Who set you free?" asked Tigress.

The tanned wolf pointed to Max and when she turned around, she could not believe that Max actually did this and she went from confused to actual shock that he actually accomplished that feat and she grew completely disturbed to know that he was a good leader and didn't want to believe it actually happened and asked, "Seriously?"

"Yep. Definitely serious. He set us free." another white wolf added.

Every wolf commented on Max's heroic efforts in which made Tigress seem completely surprised that it was really possible and everything Max did symbolizes that kind of leader he is and Max said, "We've got to get out of here right now."

"Or...you could taste death right now." Zanki said, standing on the front steps of the stairs with his sword.

* * *

Sorry if I made her too furious. Next up, huge fighting scene with Zanki! Hazards, feel free to express your comments! Here's some songs I imagined on the chase scene: 'Thriller' from Michael Jackson, 'Smooth Criminal' from Michael Jackson and 'Blow' from Ke$ha. Which other songs you guys are thinking of?


	22. Fighting Off Zanki

Now...enjoy the fight scene!

* * *

Chapter 22: Fighting Off Zanki

All of them stood their ground as they faced Zanki and he looked like he was ready for a big fight and he said, "Well...you've all managed to escape this lowly cell. Wasn't comfortable enough for you?"

"Dude, we've been through worse. Now back off or fight." K.C. growled, ready to strike at him.

Zanki laughed at his bragging and he thought that he looked insignificant to stop him because he's that powerful and strong to stand up against him and he said, "In all seriousness, I'm here for the kid."

Suddenly, they elaborated on the fact that Zanki's actually here to get Max and they know for a fact that it ain't going to happen, no when they're around and Arizona gots up in Zanki's face and said, "You have a better chance of having your body melted in lava if you get anywhere near my little brother."

"Ohh...so the rumor is true. That tiger is your brother. How sweet." Zanki said, in a mocking sweet and gentle tone.

Max growled at him in response to how he's straight up mocking the brotherhood relationship between him and Arizona and Zanki pulls out his cold face and said, "Too bad I don't care."

Then, he releases his sword and is ready for war and Max bellowed, "Kick this guy's butt right now!"

"You heard the little cub! Let's get rid of this guy!" one of the wolves shouted.

Everyone ran towards him and began pelting on him and Arizona punched Zanki in the face and swung him across and kicked him in the jaw, but Zanki came back swinging as he slapped Arizona in the face with his claw, causing Arizona to yelp in pain, but growled angrily as he bit him in the arm and clawed his face.

Zanki yelped and yowled in pain and tried to remove the blood out of his face, but then Takami comes in and wrestled him down alongside Ryo and both of them slugged Zanki down hard and Ryo unleased his dark power and pummeled him hard and Takami flipped and tripped him up and knocked him on his head and then, Kiba helps out with giving him a bodyslam and kicks him in the head and claws Zanki's butt.

Hope and Kaizer teamed up to slam Zanki down hard and Hope runs over to Zanki, but ends up getting swacked by Zanki and fell down on the ground and that totally set Kaizer off in a big way and he leaps up in the air and punches, slugs and kicks him down so hard and Zanki dodged those moves down and plans to stab him in the back, but the two swords clanged together as they fought each other with this swordfight.

Zanki flipped across the ceiling and wanted to slice up Kaizer, but the Ex-Assassin was very quick to sense those moves and he immediately clanged the sword right behind and resumed swordfighting each other and Kaizer jumps up and down as he dodged every move that Zanki made to kill him and both swords came together and Zanki tries to aim the tip to Kaizer's head to slice him with it, but Kaizer would never give up for this as he moves his sword inches from Zanki's head and then he sliced up his cloak, revealing his bare chest.

"Close enough." Kaizer said.

Zanki was gonna stab the mess out of Kaizer, but got stopped by Tigress, Layla and Faith as all three girls fought Zanki down and the wolf-tiger hybrid laughs at this and said, "This should be amusing."

"Oh, really? Well, we'll see who gets the last laugh." Layla said, growling.

All three went up to Zanki and sparred with him and Zanki tried to claw all three of them, but Tigress dodged all those moves so quickly and she flipped him from behind and slammed him down to a wall and then punched him down, then Layla comes up and claws him in the face, kicks him in the nuts and then bashed him on the head and she said, "This is for Max!"

Sierra joined in this fight and punched him in the eye and in the jaw and then Faith comes by and slammed him down and clawed his shoulder and back several times and all five girls whupped the mess out of Zanki and soon enough, Phoenix, K.C., Sage, Yow-Ni and Logan bonded forces to take down Zanki for themselves and gave them everything they got; punching, kicking, clawing, beating and throwing them down. Everything they could think of, they did.

As Takami keeps Max safe, he was going back out to fight Zanki along with the other imprisoned wolves and they all fought Zanki hard and harder and it was like payback for those wolves that got trapped in that cell and it's like they're willing to gain payback for all the stuff Zanki and his guards put them through.

"You enjoying this, guys?" asked the tanned wolf.

"Hell yeah! We should've thought of this a long time ago!" one black wolf replied, placing Zanki in a chokehold.

Zanki fogught off the wolves and he wanted to slice them up for ever fighting them and suddenly, he got tripped up by some rope on his ankle and fell down on the ground hard.

"Again?!" Zanki shouted.

He looks up and sees Max standing there with some rope and he growls fiercely at him for attempting to do that and he said, "You little...I'm going to freaking kill you right now!"

"Yeah, good luck with that!" Max shouted.

With that, Max runs off while Zanki releases himself out of the ropes, stood up, grabbed his sword and runs out of there with plans to kill Max and Arizona could not bear to see his tiger brother get killed and he said, "I gotta go out there and stop him!"

"This is Max's fight. He'll find a way...he always does." Takami added.

Arizona looks up at Takami and told him, "Shouldn't we help him?"

"It's too risky. Max doesn't have what it takes." Tigress replied, in a guilty tone.

Both Arizona and Takami totally disagree with that Tigress just said and Arizona said to her, "You don't know Max like I do. He's the most bravest little guy I've ever known."

"I agree. He'll never give up." Takami added.

* * *

The epic final battle will commence! Hazards, weigh in and are you excited for this epic battle?! Imagine any song playing in your head to define another fight scene. Here's mine: 'Pound the Alarm' from Nicki Minaj, 'My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)' from Fall Out Boy and 'Bring Me to Life' from Evanescence.


	23. The Big Fight Victory

The battle ebetween Leader Cub and Zanki is here!

* * *

Chapter 23: The Big Fight Victory

Max ran as fast as he could to force Zanki to catch up with him all around the tower and he was most definitely gonna outrun him and as he looks back, he notices Zanki going a little faster and he's starting to pick up some speed of his own and Zanki shouted, "You can run, but you can't hide from me!"

"Who says I'm hiding from you, ugly?" Max taunted.

Zanki got immediately offended with what Max just said and just straight up growled as he kept on running and he immediately gained on the cub's tail and plans to yank it, but Max knows he can go much faster and sprinted his way upstairs as fast as he could and he found himself in a wall and he exclaimed, "Aw, come on!"

But then...a huge shadow stood right in front of the cub and as Max turned around, he saw Zanki slowly walking by with a sword on his hand and Zanki angrily told him, "There's no use for you. You're just a little insignificant cub."

Max growled at this and he asked, "Is that what you think?"

"I know! But don't worry...I'll make sure that no one can know you're alive." Zanki said, with a sinister laugh.

He grabs Max by the shirt collar and Max protests against what he's doing and Zanki wasn't about to put up with it, so he beats and knocks him out so he can cooperate and when he grabbed him again, Max spat on his face three times and that is a sign that this kid refuses to be stopped at any given cost and Zanki wanted him to give up and meet his death so badly that he's willing to kill him right now.

Zanki rose up his sword to slice him down, but Max dodged it out of the way and with every strike the wolf-tiger hybrid tries to aim, Max always rolls around, ducks and dodges every aim he makes and that caused him to get super frustrated over this.

"Hold still, you..." Zanki exclaimed, frustratedly.

"Make me!" Max shouted.

Zanki was definitely gonna go above and beyond to get this kid to die and he went ahead and violent beat the snot out of Max from the head, body, shoulders and everything in between and slammed him down to the wall and fell to the ground. Bruised, beaten and almost bloodied up, Max lets out a painful groan as he laid there like he was almost helpless.

Zanki smirked at this and he was ready to finish the job as he takes out his sword and said, "Now...you're gonna get yours."

Max slowly wakes himself up and turns his head to the side to see Zanki's duty and he immediately reacted with him clawing his leg and Zanki roars in pain and could not understand why he's still fighting back and he angrily glares at Max and asked, "Why won't you give up already?!"

"Because this kid is stronger...and will never give up a fight."

Zanki turns around and sees Arizona, Takami and Kaizer standing there alongside the others coming to Max's defense and all of them were ready to knock the mess out of this Zanki guy and give him his demise as quickly as possible and Zanki growls at this and he said, "You honestly think you can save this pathetic, sad little puny runt?"

Max gets himself up, grunting heavily and he looked at him and said, "This puny runt...will still kick your butt!"

Max immediately goes all out and starts punching, flipping, swinging him and kicking him in every which way possible and claws his face again and shoves him down, then he picks him up, spins him around and then throws him through the window...where this area's surrounded by tons of lava.

Zanki looks down on the side and sees that the lava bubbling underneath the ground and started smirking thinking that this would be the perfect idea to throw Max down in that bubbling lava and watch him melt to his death.

Max then pops out of there alongside Takami, Arizona, Kaizer and the others and with Max in the center behind the others and he asked, "So...you gonna give up or are you gonna keep on fighting me?"

"How about...I keep on fighting you?! Instead of those wolves, I'll shove you down to that lava!" Zanki shouted.

Arizona growls in response to that and he immediately leaps out and punches Zanki in the mouth and jaw and Zanki comes out swinging to clock Arizona in the jaw, but Arizona ducks down and dodges down and kicks him in the junk hard and then claws him in the face and Takami joins in and bursts out flames to burn him, but Zanki immediately dodges and with every aim, Zanki refuses to be burned.

"Foolish antics!" Zanki shouted.

Kaizer had a shot at this and released his black flames out of his hands and shocked Zanki's entire body down and suddenly, Max comes out to finish him down, but Zanki grabbed him by the foot and pinned him down.

"MAX!" Arizona screamed.

Zanki then dragged him down towards the lava pit, picks him up and is about to throw him down and he screamed, "May this wretched kid die in this (bleep)ing fire pit down to hell!"

Layla could not witness this and she quickly ran over to Zanki and shoves him down to the edge...as well as Max and as the cub hangs onto Zanki's hand, he quickly climbs on top and sees Layla sticking out her paw to bring Max back up to him and he immediately clings onto her and she said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Thanks." Max said, relieved.

Zanki grunts as he went back up on the ground and after Max was standing on the ground, Zanki immediately shoves him down to the floor, rolling straightaway towards the edge of the cliff with lava right behind him and Max once again clings there where the lava is starting to bubble up above and he starts whimpering in fear and Zanki was gonna make sure he wouldn't live anymore.

"Now...this is the end for you!" Zanki screamed, raising his sword up to Max.

But on a twist...Kaizer runs up and stabs Zanki in the chest, causing Zanki to scream out loud and then he falls down to that lava and an epic splash, it's starting to rise up a little bit and Max is almost starting to lose his grip and just in time...Kaizer pulls Max back up to safety and Max ends up on Kaizer's stomach and both tigers started panting heavily and Max takes a deep sigh of relief and said, "Man, that was close."

"You all right, Max?" asked Kaizer.

Max nodded his head and replied, "Better now that you saved me."

Arizona quickly ran up to Max and just hugged him so tightlythat he could never let him go and Max gladly hugs him back, feeling so happy and relieved that he saw him again and he said, "I thought I lost you, little guy."

"So did I." Max replied.

Arizona then looks at Max straight in the eye and replied, "I am not letting you out of my sight again."

"Never ever?" asked Max.

"Never ever." Arizona replied.

Then, Arizona looks up at Kaizer for saving Max from falling down the lava pit and he said, "Thanks for saving my brother, Kai. I owe you one, man."

"Eh, it's no big deal." Kaizer replied.

Then, a rumbling sound comes out of nowhere and they could tell that parts of the tower were falling down; debris, bricks...all imported with the lava is about to collapse and Max immediately said, "Can we get the frick out of here now, please?!"

Everyone immediately got out of the other side and tried to find an exit to the tower and soon enough, lava starts rising up towards the ground, merely setting everything on fire and they ran and ran as fast as they could and they ran across the stairs to head towards the exit and suddenly, Max trips down from the ground.

"Max!"

Max got up, but parts of the debris traps both him and Arizona further apart and Kaizer came to him and said, "Come on! We gotta get going!"

"I'm not leaving without Max!" Arizona exclaimed.

"If we stay here, we'll become part of the (bleep)ing debris! Now come on!" Kaizer shouted, yanking onto Arizona's hand.

Max could see that he's in deep trouble now because he doesn't know what to do...but as the entire tower begins to cave in, he quickly found a smart way to get out of this and that's to catapult himself out of there and he starts jumping up and down the walls and then reaches towards the window, breaks through it and flies out of there, before the side of it even explodes and whips out his rope, swings himself through it and dives headfirst into the water before it all comes crashing down.

As the others got out of there safely, the whole freaking tower crumbles down and explodes through it there and all of them were completely horrified to know that Max might still be inside there...especially Arizona as he stood there in horror and sorrow.

"Max..."

All of them were completely horrified and also a mixture of sadness, grief and ultimate shock that Max would die inside there and that they were so focused on saving their own lives that they didn't have time to save Max's.

"Is he...?" Phoenix asked, on the verge of tears.

Arizona got down on his knees and just lowered his head down, sobbing uncontrollably and Sierra was also in tears too after she saw him just drop down and she comforted him as he started whining softly and pretty soon...all the others were in tears, including Tigress. She felt an absolute sense of guilt for treating him so harshly and put him through a lot of stuff that was just plain cruel and the fact that he might've died...really realized that her cruel attitude was too late to take back.

Takami and Layla were crying softly over Max's 'death' and Takami felt like he had failed him so hard that he would've saved him; Ryo and Kiba was shedding some tears; Faith closed her eyes and just started crying as Hope hugged her tightly and felt deeply saddened by this. Logan, K.C., Sage and Yow-Ni were also crying as well and Kaizer tried to hold back some tears, but they were very difficult as he lets some fall down.

"Max...you were the best friend I ever had." Kaizer said, in a choked sob.

Takami echoed was Kaizer just said and said in a tearful voice, "I am so sorry, Max...I had failed you."

"If I could take back every (bleep)ing damn word I ever said to you...I could tell you how sorry I am being so disrespectful to you. You didn't deserve to be treated like that." Tigress said, crying.

"He's such a brave soul. He may not have had a great childhood, but he had a good heart, a kind soul and the strongest kid I've ever known in my life." Kaizer added.

"I wish it was just me instead of him." Sage said, tearfully.

"Why'd he have to go so early?" Faith sobbed.

Layla lets out a few tears and she looks up at the sky and she said, "Max...I'm so sorry we failed you. I love you so much...like my own son."

They were all unaware that Max popped out of the water and swam out to safety and climbed towards the edge of the now destroyed tower and made onto the ground, dripping and soaking wet as he shook off all the water off of him and said to himself, "Man, that was close."

He eventually caught up with the others who were grieving over Max's 'death' and he asked, "Are you guys okay?"

Arizona instantly rose his head up and as he looks over and sees Max right in front of him...his grief switched up to shock in a minute and he couldn't tell if it was either him or a mirage and he asked, "Maximus...?"

"It's Max, Arizona." Max responded.

Arizona clutches his chest to keep his heart from pumping out of his chest before he loses it and when Sierra looks up, she was just as shocked as Arizona was and she asked, "Max, is that you?"

"Yep, that's me." Max replied.

Arizona immediately picks him up and shows everyone that he's all right and as they look up, they were all relieved and happy that Max is still alive and every single one of them hugged him tightly and they were a mixture of relief, joy and happiness that he's still standing and Layla hugged him tightly and she said, "You almost scared us!"

"I'm sorry." Max replied.

Then, she hugged him tightly again because she was jus so happy that Max is alive and well and Takami said to him, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Logan, K.C., Phoenix, Sage and Yow-Ni dogpiled to Max and the same went to Hope, Kiba and Ryo as they embraced him a lot and Phoenix hugged him tightly and said, "Man, you are so lucky that you're still alive."

"Of course I am. Nothing beats the mind and some rope." Max said, smiling.

The imprisoned wolves looks at Max and the tanned wolf felt nothing but maximum respect for Max and all that he did for them and he said, "Max...you saved our lives. We will be forever grateful for all that you to defeat Zanki and we are in your debt."

They all got down on one knee and just gave him the biggest amount of respect that they gave him and all Max could do is just widen his eyes in shock and said, "Wow...I don't know what I did, but thank you."

Kaizer chuckled softly and rubbed his head and said, "Max...you made a difference. As I told you before, you're never too young or too small to accomplish anything. And you did just that."

"Let's hear it for Maximus Bushido-Akio, a strong and true warrior!" Phoenix shouted.

Everyone cheered for Max as they all picked him up and carried him off towards the road to victory and Max felt really humbled by all of this, but had the ability to prove to himself that he can do anything and that the underdog can rise to the top and that's what Max did. He looks up and sees Arizona smiling at him, looking extremely proud of his wolf brother.

Tigress was the only one standing there, looking completely saddened and guilty by the fact that Max really did accomplish everything and she didn't treat him with full-on respect towards the journey and she said to herself, "I was wrong to treat him so badly. He really is a great leader."

* * *

Was that awesome or what? Next up, Tigress and Max reconcile! Hazards, weigh in please! And here's the songs that define this chapter: 'In the End' from Linkin Park, 'It Ends Tonight' from All-American Rejects (imagine the instrumental piano playing at the beginning of the song when they mourn Max's 'death' and at the end of the song when he's alive an victorious) and 'Burn It Down' from Linkin Park (as the tower exploding in the chapter and the fight scene). You guys can also think of which song (from rock song, pop song, hip-hop or score from a movie) that best describes this scene.


	24. All is Forgiven

Max finally reconciles with Tigress and he explains the reasons why he would never hold any grudges against someone so young like Max.

* * *

Chapter 24: All is Forgiven

A couple of minutes later, they all set camp for the night as Max, the former imprisoned wolves, Arizona, Sierra, Phoenix, Logan, K.C., Yow-Ni and half of the Hazards completely congratulated Max's first official role as a leader and as Max explains everything they went through to Arizona, he was completely surprised by how much he's done and he said, "Man...you're a brave kid, weren't ya?"

"I'm telling ya, this kid never says die. He just keeps going and going and going and he always gets the job done." Ryo said, happily.

"I seriously don't know how he does it...but it's like he's got that spirit that you'd never expect from an eight year old." Hope added, in awe.

Phoenix chuckled at this and he said, "It's a Bushido-Akio thing. Whenever there's a challenge right in front of us, we're the ones that keeps pushing forward and never give up, even if it gets hard. We don't stop...no matter what."

"Yep, it's a family mentality. Max just takes it up like 20 times further from there and for a little guy, he just keeps us going." Logan added.

One of the wolves looked at Max with a whole lost of astonishment and amazement that a little person can accomplish anything before they grow up and he said to him, "I gotta say, you're so courageous and brave...it's almost as if you're hardcore, almost."

Max chuckled at this and he said, "You're kidding, right? Me, hardcore? Let's not get into that."

"Max, I am so proud of you right now." Sierra said, smiling.

Max lets out a little smile at this and he replied, "Aw, thank you. I was really missing you guys a lot and when I heard that you were in trouble, I couldn't imagine what would happen if anything happened to you guys. I had to do something about it and I know I would not let this go. No matter what...I would do anything for you guys. Arizona taught me to do anything for the people you love and he saved my life so many times that I thought I would do him a favor of saving his own."

Arizona couldn't help but just pick him up and hug him tightly and he said, "You've really grown up, Max."

"Yeah well...I'm still a kid. No biggie." Max replied.

"Max has been an awesome leader and he's a heck of a fighter." Takami said, enthusiastically.

K.C. nodded his head in agreement to that and he said, "I gotta admit, I like this kid. He looks like he could be street-worthy."

"Yeah, I think I might respect him now." Yow-Ni agreed.

Max chuckled softly and he said, "Only if Sage doesn't walk around in his underwear again."

Arizona shuddered at that thought and that puts Sage in a little bit of a stone faced embarassment and he asked, "Had to go there, didn't ya?"

All of them were laughing and joking with each other and kept on talking and enjoying each other's company and as Max turns around, he notices Tigress just sitting further away from the group in the dark and he felt like he needed to talk to her and make sure if she was okay after all of this because there were a couple of issues between the two of them during this whole journey with Tigress not believing that he's cut out being leader, but ultimately got proven wrong.

He gets himself up and walks towards the three where she's sitting and she did notice him coming and didn't turn around because she was too ashamed of herself for saying so many hurtful things and put him through some deep stuff that could never be forgivable, but Max is definitely forgivable.

"I bet you're here to tell me you were right and then rub it in my face." Tigress stated, looking down at the ground.

"Actually, that's not why I'm here. I came to see if you were okay." Max replied.

Tigress lets out a heavy sigh and she said to him, "Max, I'm sorry for disrespecting you and treating you so harshly throughout this journey and for everything else."

"It's all good, Tigress." Max said, smiling.

Tigress took that response as another way of adding more guilt and didn't really feel like she truly deserve to be forgiven on account of all the things she did to him and said, "No, it's not all good! I insulted you!"

"I've been through worse. Besides, I've already forgiven you anyways, so...no worries. I accept your apology and that's good enough for me." Max added.

"Why? You always say that. Apologizing when I said hurtful things to you or put you through harsh training. It's as if you don't even care about anything in the world." Tigress said, getting really upset.

Max rose his eyebrow on this one and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You are so carefree and you don't see the bad in things in situations." Tigress replied.

"I just look beyond those. My life used to be filled with suffering because of my mom, but everything happens for a reason. I choose not to let anything bother me and I just let it go. That's why I'm so easy to forgive." Max added.

Tigress then knelt down to his level and lowers her head down and said, " I...I don't understand that. You're just like Po, Takami and Hope. You're all so easy to forgive."

"And that's a bad thing?" asked Max, gently.

Tigress looks up at him in the eye and replied, "No. It's just...I can never do that."

"Maybe if you could stop being such a pain to everyone all the time and just let everything go, it would make it easier for you. That's how I am and I could never hold a grudge against anyone." Max replied.

"You're such a little kid, you understand so little of things at hand, yet you go around being remorseful. Not everybody deserves that." Tigress explained, with a sigh.

"I can never let what had happened define me. Besides, it's best to just be happy than live in misery. My panda dad told me that despite everything I've suffered, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel." Max added.

" I... didn't see it like that." Tigress said, a little bit surprised.

"Maybe you saw it from a different angle. All you have to do is just trust in it. Just take it from me and maybe you'll get over the suffering of your past." Max said, with a smile.

Tigress didn't really say anything else after that and she walks back to her tent, but begins to take some of Max's words to heart as she's walking and Max walks back with the rest of the gang and Arizona asked, "Where ya been?"

"Just talking with Tigress and all. I think she's really sorry for everything she put me through and I completely forgave her." Max replied.

"You did? Tigress would never forgive herself for everything she did to hurt your feelings." Takami added.

Max looks at the tent that Tigress is in and he replied, "I'd give anyone a second chance...even if they feel like they don't deserve it."

Arizona chuckled softly and he replied, "You're definitely a hero in my book."

* * *

It's finally been resolved! A few chapters left to go! Hazards, please respond! You guys can think of a song that best describes this scene.


	25. Mini Hero

Another boding scene between Kaizer and Max and how Kaizer sees the tiger cub after the whole mission as a mini-hero.

* * *

Chapter 25: Mini-Hero

The next morning comes along and Max slowly opens his eyes and lets out a silent yawn, then stretches himself up and looks at his wolf brother and how happy he is to have him back and then turns to Sierra and smiles at her and that he's really lucky to have those two back. He slowly crept out of the room and did some more limbering up to wake his entire body up and walks around for a little while and sooner or later, he sees Kaizer sitting down on the ground near a river.

He walks closer to him and Kaizer already knew he was walking this way because he heard his footsteps and Kaizer said, "Hey, Max."

"What are you doing out here all alone?" asked Max.

Kaizer lets out a deep sigh and replied, "Just woke up a few minutes ago to think some things over."

Max noticed Kaizer's sandals sitting by a tree and he crossed his legs to make sure he needs some company and he said, "So what are you thinking?"

Kaizer looked at Max for a second and he replied, "This whole journey...mainly you. After everything that happened, I often see a little bit of myself in you."

"You do? How?" asked Max.

"In spite of all the things you suffered, you never let it affect you and you're always one to keep pushing forward even when a challenge is too difficult to face. I sometimes ask myself, 'How does he do it?' and maybe I would've been like you. Just to move on and let the past be the past." Kaizer responded.

Max could tell that Kaizer still wants to be just like him for a bit and he said, "Thanks. I...don't know what to say."

"Here's what I say; to me...you're like my little brother that I wish I had and would be there for me when I needed it the most. You're always sure of yourself and even when you're young, you just live life like no one else could. Me...I'm gonna need a lot of work." Kaizer said, with a sigh.

Max blinked his eyes and he asked, "Be honest, Kai...how'd I do as a leader?"

"Honestly?" asked Kaizer.

Max nodded his head and then, he received a fur rub and a slight noogie from Kaizer and replied, "You're a great leader. You always said that you see me as a hero...but to me, you're my hero."

Max seemed a little taken aback by what Kaizer gave him and he didn't see himself in that label and doesn't make a big deal about it and said, "Aw, stop. I'm not a hero. I'm just a little guy that just wanted to prove everyone that I can accomplish something major."

"And you have. But you are a hero...a mini hero to me. I'm so proud to be in your life as you are in mine." Kaizer replied, his eyes getting a little misty-eyed.

Max smiled at this and he gave Kaizer a hug, in which he freezes in reaction...but has immediately melted into it and hugged him back. Max whispered, "Thanks, Kai."

Kaizer responded with a small purr and that sorta made him a little embarassed that he just did that and he asked, "Did I just...?"

"Yeah, you did. It's okay, though." Max replied.

They let go for a second and Max sees Kaizer get a little embarassed after hearing him purr, assuming that he might think he's a full-on sofite, but he smiles at him and also told him, "I'm not one person to judge anyone."

Kaizer blinked his eyes in response to what Max just told him and fully agreed with the fact that he'd never judge anyone and said, "That's why I respect you a lot."

Suddenly, Takami and Arizona walks by and they see Max and Kaizer bonding a little bit and Arizona asked, "Were we interrupting something?"

Max looks up and sees his wolf brother come in and he immediately ran towards him and hugged his waist and Arizona hugged him back as well and Max said, "Nah, you're good."

Takami knelt down to his level and he said to Max, "You're very special, man."

Arizona looks at Takami and replied, "He's a good kid."

"It's good to have you back, Arizona." Takami said, happily.

Arizona chuckled softly and completely agreed with what Takami said and told him, "It's good to be back. Have there been any problems with Max during the trip?"

"We have had no problems with Max at all. There were a few little issues between him and Tigress though." Takami responded.

Arizona sighed at this and said, "How come that doesn't surprise me?"

"To be honest, Tigress was really bitter about Max's role as a leader, thinking that he's too small or too young to accomplish something majorly big." Kaizer responded.

"But this guy didn't let anything she said get to him. He just keeps it going and he motivates us along the way. Maybe I can learn something from him." Takami added.

Arizona got really amazed that Max did all of this and he looked at his tiger brother and said, "Man, you're growing up, aren't ya?"

"Pretty much. I'm almost 9 though." Max replied.

Kaizer gets himself up with his bare soaked feet and he comes to both Arizona and Takami and he said, "I'll say this...he's considered a little hero to me."

Then, Arizona looks at Kaizer for a second and didn't forget the fact that he brought him back to safety before falling into that lava pit and he said, "Kai, I really appreciate you saving Max yesterday, man."

"He's like a little brother to me too...one I wish I would've had that I can protect and follow his example." Kaizer added.

"Same to me. He just makes me appreciative for everything I have." Takami added.

"I owe you guys big for taking care of him...especially you, Kaizer." Arizona stated.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, it's no big deal. I just did what I had to do." Kaizer replied.

Max smiles at all three of them and he sees them as his big brothers and he said, "You three ought to be members of the Bushido-Akio's."

Takami chuckled at this and Kaizer just smiled a little bit after making that statement Max just made about being a part of the Bushido-Akio's and Kaizer said, "Sounds pretty cool."

"Very cool." Takami agreed.

* * *

Awesome bonding moment, huh? We've got a lot more heading your way! Hazards, weigh in please! Describe a song best fitting for this scene!


	26. Journey Home

I've brought in a fe random things on this chapter; from second reconciliation to a hilarious moment.

* * *

Chapter 26: Journey Home

As the four made their way back to campsite, almost everyone else was up and they see Tigress come towards them and the first person she saw was Max and she said, "Max, I've been thinking a lot about what you said last night and you were right. I shouldn't treat everyone else the same way I treated you and if I continue like that, it'll drive them away from me."

Max could tell that she was geninuely sincere in everything she told him and he asked, "So...does that mean we're back to being friends now?"

"Yes. I'll try my best to restrain myself if I ever do get angry, but I may need your help. Just let me know if I get too angry and feel like hurting someone." Tigress added.

"How about I stand behind you and just claw you in the butt until you get the message?" asked Max.

Tigress chuckled at this and she said, "No...just try to stop me. The reason why I gave you such a hard time is that I was hurt when Shifu assigned you as a leader instead of me, even though you wanted to save your wolf brother and I guess I didn't have as much confidence that you could handle it because I thought you'd be controlling and stuff. You didn't though...but I just couldn't see it. Resenting you was just stupid of me and it snowballed into taking my fury out on you. That was wrong and I deeply apologize for it."

"Tigress...will you stop already? I forgive you." Max said, smiling.

Arizona looks up at her and he said, "Sometimes a kung-fu warrior makes mistakes like everyone else."

"I can't argue with that. It's just that...I've been so jealous of Max because he's been through a lot and he always smiles about it, even after he suffered a lot. He never gets mad, bitter, resentful, upset or anything. It's like nothing even happened and that the past doesn't matter and it's easy for him to let go and I ask myself, 'why is it so easy for him but it's hard for me?' He's always one to overcome so many obstacles and does it with a smile on his face. There's hardly any kids in the Valley like him." Tigress continued.

"I guess I had a little bit to do with that. Him and I relate to each other a lot and I might've given him some confidence when I trained him. He's got a lot of strength, determination, spirit and perseverance." Arizona stated.

"Same with me and Kaizer." Takami replied.

"The times I do train him...it was kinda the other way around and I just wonder what am I doing wrong?" asked Tigress.

"I may have witnessed it once or twice and I think you might have treated him the same way Shifu did." Takami replied.

She simply stopped herself and reflected on all the times Shifu treated Tigress with so much distant and coldheartedness and it's like she immediately knew how Max felt when she gave him some harsh training and she looks at Max now and said, "Max...I thought I was doing what Arizona and the others did and instead, I just..."

"Hey, hey, hey...it's all right. You know, you can't make up for the past. It's already over and done with." Max added.

"But you're still not mad at me." Tigress added.

"No, never was. A little hurt, maybe...but never mad." Max said.

Takami looks at her for a while and he said, "Just take what Max taught us and you'll do okay."

Soon after that, they saw Ryo's pants hanging below his underwear and Takami dropped his jaw in shock, Kaizer froze for a minute and Max face-palms himself after witnessing what they just saw and Ryo asked, "So...what do you think?"

Takami went towards Ryo and he shook his head and said, "Ryo...you're a mess."

"What were you thinking?" Kaizer asked.

Ryo looked up at the rest of them and said, "Sage thought I would feel the breeze and feel free."

"Free or freaky?" asked Faith, a little disgusted.

Sage got out of his tent with his shorts showing almost all of his underwear and looks at Ryo for a second and said, "Look at you. You got an ounce of cool in you."

Yow-Ni and K.C. came out looking the same way and Max felt like his eyes were stinging after this and he asked Sage, "What did you just create?"

"It's a craze, little man." Sage replied, patting his fur.

"Well, it's craz-ee." Max responded, patting his head.

Soon enough, Max meets up with the rest of the wolves and just hung out with them for a while and he shows them some of his moves, which just impressed the rest of them to the extent, howling excitement and the tanned wolf said, "Now that is amazing. You have the mind of a fighter."

"But still a kid though." Max replied.

Layla comes up to Takami and kissed him on the cheek and she said, "Hi, Takami. What's going on?"

"Ryo's got a fashion disaster." Takami replied.

Then, she looks at Ryo's pants sagging down, exposing his underwear and she got really disturbed by that and said, "I think that image would definitely scar me."

Kiba comes in and he looks at Ryo's pants sagging and he said, "Looking cool, Ryo. Maybe I can do the same?"

"NO!" everyone exclaimed.

"Man, if Skyler saw that...she would freak out." Takami said.

"I can actually imagine if it's you, Takami." Layla said, smiling.

Takami didn't know what to say about that, other than the fact that he was blushing about her imagining it's Takami in that position and he got so speechless, he received a kiss on the cheek from her and got so numb.

A couple of minutes later, everyone got their stuff packed up and Max comes towards the rest of them and he said, "I just wanna say that this journey has been the best one I've ever been in. Rescuing my wolf brother and his girlfriend taught me a few things about being a leader; being responsible and how to be loyal to each other."

"You taught us a few things as well, Max. And this is definitely one I will never forget." Takami added.

Everyone agreed with that and they definitely loved having him there and the wolves couldn't thank him enough of what they did for him and the tanned wolf said, "We are definitely honored and grateful for everything you did to set us free and stand up to Zanki. None of us would even consider risking our lives to do so, but all of that's changed thanks to you."

"You're welcome." Max smiled.

Phoenix, Logan, K.C., Sage and Yow-Ni were definitely giving him a full amount of respect to Max and all Max could do is say, "Let's head to the Valley of Peace."

* * *

Hazards, please weigh in if you must, please! I got 2 more chapters left to go! Ya'll can think of which song that goes with this scene!

Sorry I'm late posting this. Had a serious stomach bug...so I hope this makes up for it.


	27. Welcome Home!

They're finally home! After 3 days of dangerous missions!

* * *

Chapter 27: Welcome Home!

The gang soldiers on their way back to the Valley of Peace and as Max leads them home, Arizona and Sierra walked by his side, each of them were really proud of how Max got through this mission and how amazed they were for taking his role as a leader, as well as half of the Hazards, his siblings, the former imprisoned wolves and Master Tigress, who's starting to accept the fact that Max has accomplished what he set out to do and they were amazed that he made a difference.

"How long did it take you guys to get from the Valley to the tower?" asked Sierra.

"3 days." Max replied.

Arizona whistled in response to how further it took them to walk this way and he said, "Man, it could be three days if we get back home."

"I wish we could get back home a lot faster now." Logan replied.

Sage exhaled deeply, feeling a huge amount of exhaustion from walking and he said, "I actually agree with you on this one."

Suddenly, a roaring sound can be heard from a mile away and all of them stopped and wondered where that sound came from and when Kiba looks up, he asked, "Ryo, was that you?"

"No...it wasn't me." Ryo replied.

"If it is your stomach, please let me know." Kiba added, a little fearful.

"Kiba, my stomach wouldn't make that noise." Ryo replied, getting a little annoyed.

And for some reason, the sight of fire blown out of nowhere alarmed them in a split second and a big shadow surrounded them and fell down in front of them and within a deep shock of realization, they saw a dragon standing right there and he checked Max out and smelled his scent and after that, he licked him in excitement.

"Eww...that's gross." Faith said, in disgust.

Max was slobbered in drool and he looks up and he said, "Moo-Ki, what are you doing here?"

Moo-Ki looked at Max in the eye and replied, "Your dad sent me to bring you back to the Valley."

Hope widened his eyes to know that this dragon knows that they were going home and it was like someone read their mind right away and said, "Man, that was a quick wish."

"How is my dad?" asked Max.

"Worried sick. He thought you might be dead or something." Moo-Ki responded.

Logan chuckled at his father's overprotection mode towards Max and he replied, "That's dad."

Arizona and Sierra looked up and they met Moo-Ki again and Arizona was the first to say, "Hey, Moo-Ki. How's it going?"

"Arizona! Sierra! Thank goodness. Glad to see you're okay." Moo-Ki replied, in excitement.

Tigress looked very confused as to how they know Moo-Ki and she knows she wanted to get to the bottom of this and she asked, "How do you all know each other?"

"He's friends with our grandfather and father and he's also our emergency flier." Phoenix responded.

Moo-Ki nodded in agreement with the description and he said, "Very true. I bring anyone who's in dire need of emergency on their way to where they should be and bring them home if it takes like days and I get there quicker in a flash."

"Impressive." Tigress stated.

Max then introduces them to Moo-Ki and all of them were completely awe-struck to meet him and Takami asked, "Think you can give us a lift home?"

"Absoultely." Moo-Ki replied.

Moo-Ki got down on the ground as the gang piled onto his back as they settled in, the tanned wolf asked, "Is this safe?"

"Of course. It all depends if you hang on." Moo-Ki replied, with a chuckle.

As he rose himself up, he immediately starts running in all fours and as they head to a cliff, he flies out of there and lifts himself off the ground as they flew up towards the skies and all of them were a mixture of excitement, nervousness and almost nausea that they're flying.

"This is Moo-Ki speaking. We will be heading towards the Valley of Peace in the next 2 hours in full speed. Please keep from refraining out of your seats and hang onto your sides. Thank you." Moo-Ki added.

* * *

2 hours later...

They eventually made onto their way to the bamboo forest and they gently landed in safety and as Moo-Ki sets himself down there, the gang got off of his back and into solid ground and Max said, "Thanks, Moo-Ki. We enjoyed the ride."

"My pleasure, little Max. And also...kudos on your first mission. I know your dad would be really proud of you." Moo-Ki said, smiling.

Max totally agreed with what he just said and felt the same way too and Arizona got behind Max and said, "We're all proud of him, Moo-Ki."

"All righty. Tell your dad I said hi, all right? Oh...and Ryo...do us all a favor; pull your pants up. Someone might've seen your butt crack." Moo-Ki added.

"Oh, thanks a lot." Ryo said, sarcastically and then pulls his pants back up.

Faith giggled at this and she said, "Wait until I tell Skyler about this."

Ryo turned to Faith with an annoyed growl and said to her, "Skyler doesn't have to know. Besides, she'd be lucky to see half of my underwear while I'm wearing pants. Makes me look cooler."

"Or just plain ridiculous." Takami added.

Moo-Ki waved them all goodbye and the rest did the same as Moo-Ki flew out of there and after that, Max said, "Looks like we know the way home from here."

"Yep...I see the Jade Palace from here." Tigress agreed.

Most of the wolves couldn't be anymore appreciative of Max for what he's done for them and the tanned wolf said, "Max...we wish we could live where you live."

"I wish you guys could, but there might not be enough room." Max replied.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you guys to suffocate in our place." Phoenix agreed.

Soon enough, one black wolf came out and came with an idea and he said, "We've got no place of our own...so why don't we have a little village of our own? That way, we would be close to Max."

Most of the wolves agreed with that idea and having a village of their own would be a great chance to show that they can take the first steps into being independent and the black wolf stated, "Kao-Mi could be our leader."

The tanned wolf felt surprised that he could lead this team and he said, "You would?"

"Of course. When we were kids, we always look up to you and it's like you know what's best for us and told us to stay strong while we were in the clutches of Zanki and thanks to this little tiger, you can fulfill this role and we would protect the village with any peril or threat coming in." the black wolf responded.

Everyone agreed with that and Kao-Mi definitely felt like this could be a big step, but he knows he's able to step it up and has what it takes and he said, "I'll do it."

Max couldn't be any more happier for Kao-Mi and the tanned wolf turns to Max and he said, "We will never forget this. We would definitely honor you when you visit us."

"Nah, come on. Just treat me like I'm a regular kid, a regular visitor." Max said, smiling.

"Sounds fair." Kao-Mi answered.

Takami also responded, "And you're closer to the Valley of Peace, so just drop by sometime."

They all agreed and they gave Max a see you later wave and they responded back as they walked their separate ways, but there's no doubt that they'll see each other again. As the group makes their way back to the Valley of Peace, Max couldn't be any more happier than to be back home after four days away and he feels pretty much like he accomplished everything.

Takami looks up at Max and the rest of them did the same thing and they bowed to Max for being the most amazing leader who's so young and he said, "We were definitely honored to have you as our leader."

"You proved that you can accomplish anything at a young age." Layla agreed.

"As I said, you're never too old or too young to make a difference and you're the living proof of that." Kaizer added.

Max soaked all the appreciation in and he said, "Thank you. Now that this happened, I feel like I can do anything. So can we get back to normal?"

"Maximus!"

Max turned around and he saw his stepmom standing there, completely excited and happy to see him come back home and the little white cub quickly ran towards her and he leaps in and hugs her tightly. Phoenix, Sage, K.C., Logan and Yow-Ni joined in as well and Reiko hugged all of them and kissed them on the cheek and she asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're all okay, mom." Phoenix replied.

"We're just glad to be back." Logan added.

Sage chuckled softly and said, "Especially thanks to this little guy."

Reiko then looks at Max and she asked him, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." Max said, happily.

Master Tigress and the rest of the Hazards came to Reiko and Takami said to her, "Your stepson's a brave soul. We definitely liked having him as our leader and he's a remarkable kid. He's got that special something that keeps him going and we can all learn from him."

"Yeah, you must be very proud." Kaizer responded.

Reiko smiled at Max and she said, "I definitely am."

"I thought I heard Max!"

Mako joyfully comes over and picks Max up and just hugged him tightly and he said, "Welcome back, son."

"It's good to be back, dad." Max replied.

Then, he looks at the rest of them and he told them, "Thank you so much. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"Are you kidding? This guy leading us with so much adventure? How much trouble could he be?" asked Ryo.

"He's no trouble at all." Tigress added, smiling.

"I consider you all a special member of the Bushido-Akio clan in my heart." Mako added.

Takami smiled at that and he said, "We'll take that honor."

Seconds later, everyone thanked Max for being such a great leader as Max and the others made their way home and everyone else ventured back to the Jade Palace with what could be the best adventure they have ever had in their lives and that it could be one to remember.

"Now, Haruki...did you steal my underwear again?" asked Kaizer, in a stern growl.

"Uh...yes?" Hope answered, nervously.

* * *

One more chapter left! Hazards, feel free to weigh in! And you can tell me which song is fitting for this chapter!


	28. Big Change

And the wrap-up!

* * *

Chapter 28: Big Change

3 weeks later...

Max went with Logan, Phoenix, Sage, K.C. and Yow-Ni to check up on those wolves and see how they're doing as they walked across the bamboo forest and soon enough, they saw that they've already made up the village by themselves and they saw homes, tents and everything in between, which was a huge surprise for them.

"Wow...this place looks awesome." Max said, widening his eyes.

Soon about, Kao-Mi saw them coming in and he was definitely excited to see them and he ran towards them with his new chinese vest, dark shorts and a bamboo hat and said, "Max!"

"Kao-Mi!" Max said, happily.

Both of them came by and gave each other a hug and Kao-Mi was so happy to see him again after three weeks and he asked, "How are ya, man?"

"Great. You?" asked Max.

Kao-Mi chuckled softly and replied, "Couldn't be any better. We've finally got our own village up."

"Yeah, I could see that."

Arizona then came by and he comes up and gives both Max and Kao-Mi a high five and he said, "Thought you were gonna look around without me?"

Max laughs and said, "Nah, I was waiting for you."

Arizona then looks around the entire village and he was impressed with how it looks and said, "Man, you guys must've worked hard."

"Oh yeah. It was after we settled here after meeting you guys that we were able to turn this into our own little village based on the ones we used to have, only it's ours." Kao-Mi replied.

"The village looks awesome. All you guys need is like some sort of wrestling place and we're sold." Yow-Ni stated.

Max rolled his eyes at Yow-Ni's excitement over this and he said, "Slow your roll, man. Only in your dreams."

"It could happen, you know." Yow-Ni added.

As the gang looks around, Max looked very amazed by what they've been up to and Kao-Mi said, "We've all made a little something in honor of what you've done for us, Max."

Just then, Kao-Mi takes them all to this one little temple that devotes their lives for courage, honor and determination while staying true to themselves which pretty much involves kung-fu and Max lets out a gasp as he sees the scale of black and white stripes around this temple and a picture of himself on the center of it with the image of a kung-fu master and that made the cub really speechless.

"You did this...for me?" Max asked, almost shocked.

All of the other wolves walked in with matching black japanese headbands on their heads and the cub chuckled softly and replied, "Looking good, you guys."

"That's why we named this place 'Maximius Akio', hero and fellowship to the ultimate maximus." the black wolf responded.

"Okay, I have no idea what to say except...I'm so humbled." Max replied.

Arizona chuckled softly and he looked up at his brother and said, "You really are a hero, Max. But most importantly, you're my hero."

Max was touched by what his wolf brother said and he gave him a hug and cried in tears of joy and he said, "You're my hero too, Arizona."

"But don't get it over your head." Arizona added.

Max laughs in response to that and he said, "I won't. I'm still the same kid you know...and always will be."

Back at the Jade Palace

Kaizer sits down on his desk, thinking of a new poem to write about and after the journey three weeks ago, he figured it was time to put down those experiences into paper.

_Little cub_

_so small and so eager_

_to become someone_

_that'll be a believer_

_So young_

_with a heart of gold_

_but also a strength_

_of a warrior, strong and bold_

_You may still be a kid_

_but you're a hero in my eyes_

_Your spirit and mentality_

_gives me hope in a world of lies_

_I used to feel alone_

_full of frustration_

_it took someone like you_

_to break through and fill my life with inspiration_

_Never say you're too young_

_or too small_

_For you can accomplish anything_

_and rise above it all_

_Little tiger brother_

_I will never let you depart_

_because you filled me up_

_deep inside my heart_

_When I think of you_

_You're one of a kind_

_With so much ambition_

_in that amazing mind_

_A true friend till the end_

_to get me out of any slump_

_To everyone, you're still a kid_

_but to me...you'll always be our leader cub_

_Maximus, listen to my words_

_and it'll be a lot clearer_

_Stay true to yourself_

_and you'll turn out to be...a great leader_

Kaizer looks up at the poem he had written and he knew it had some meaning into it and thanks to Max, he knows that he'll always be there for him whenever he needs it and as his duty as Avenger of Peace, he will do just that...as well as being lucky to have a little brother who's strength, spirit and kindness will lift him up deeply.

"Thank you, Max...for being a hero in my heart and I hope I will do the same for you...always." Kaizer whispered, with tears falling down from his eyes.

* * *

And that's it! Thank you all for reading this story with the utmost support! Big thanks to SpiritualLoneWolfXIII for letting me put all his OC characters in the story and for helping me out too! Thanks for all who have subscribed, favored and reviewed the fic! I'll be back with another fic soon. Until then, AniUniverse is out!

Here are the end credits songs: 'Never Say Never' from Justin Bieber (couldn't think of anything else that Max and the others could dance to in the beginning to the end credits), 'Don't You Worry Child' from Swedish House Mafia, 'Skyscraper' from Demi Lovato and 'We Found Love' from Rihanna. (Imagine Max, his brothers, Arizona, Sierra and the Elemental Hazards dancing to that)


End file.
